Page 114 of Left on Read

“This is so hot.” River shifted in his seat as I left the lot and turned onto the main road.

“That dance was so hot. That song…”

“It’s been on my playlist since you told me you liked it.” He smiled shyly. “I thought it would be fun to make a routine just for you using it. It’s isn’t the usual type of song I dance to, but it worked.”

“So that was a routine? You didn’t just ad-lib it, or whatever the dance equivalent is?”

“Nope. I figured I’d get too distracted if I tried to wing it and end up getting my ass fired for mauling you on stage.” He pushed his hair back from his face. “Some of that was improved. Got a bit carried away and couldn’t help it.”

“The end?” I asked. That felt like a spur-of-the-moment thing.

“Yup. It’s a good thing that bull was there, or I’da laid you down and dry humped the fuck out of you right then and there.”

“That’s allowed?”

“Nope.” He shot me a hot look.

Seeing the street I wanted ahead, I flipped on my signal light.

“Where are we going? This isn’t the way home.”

“Can’t wait that long. There’s a service road up here that no one ever uses. We can park there.”

“And how do you know about this road?” Jealousy tinged his voice.

I grinned. I loved it when he got like that.

River was the type who could be possessive and jealous without tipping into controlling. He didn’t tell me what I could or couldn’t do, didn’t put any rules or boundaries on me he wasn’t willing to follow himself. Even in moments like this, when he wanted to know something about my past, he never made me feel like he was judging or angry at me.

“Ryan told me about it. It’s one of his spots. I’ve never used it.”

“Oh.” He relaxed. “How far is it?”

“Not far.” I turned down another street, then another, and drove until I saw the break in the trees Ryan described.

I drove down the service road until it widened enough I could turn the car around so we were facing the only way in or out, then cut the engine.

The moon was bright, but with no lights around us and being surrounded by trees, the inside of the car was dark enough that I could barely see more than River’s outline.

“I didn’t think this through.”

“It’s okay. We don’t need to see each other.” His seatbelt clicked. I undid mine too.

His hand closed over my waist. “Get over here.”

Eagerly, and not all that gracefully, I scrambled out of my seat and onto his lap.

19

RIVER

Hayden landed on my lap in a heap, his mouth finding mine in a hungry kiss. He shifted and squirmed, trying to get his knees on either side of my hips.

He pulled away from the kiss and rubbed his hair. “Oof.”

“You okay?” I cupped his ass and squeezed.

“Yeah. Bumped my head, but it’s fine.”

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