Page 51 of Assigned

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lucas

We get home and Riley showers off and changes quickly. I’m downstairs in the kitchen, getting out all the snacks to be packed on the table. Things like sunflower seeds, powdered Gatorade, jerky, dried fruits, and nuts. Also, a few cans of Chef Boyardee.

Riley snorts. “Seriously? Thought you had this stuff for Mason in case you didn’t have time to cook.”

“You have no idea how useful this stuff can be. Not just to eat, but to trade.” I hold up menthols and dipping tobacco. “Same with this shit. I don’t smoke. Others do. Will be used to my benefit.”

I glance over at her. She’s worrying at her lower lip and I want more than anything to stop her with a kiss. But I’m not sure how that will be received. She’s talking to me. That’s something. It ain’t permission for a lip-lock, though. “Taya, Marge, and Inara are here to help. Anything you need. Even if it’s just to talk. Take them up on it. Trust me. They’re amazing women.” This is the part of the job that’s tough. The not knowing, the disappearing. Add in that communication can be sparse and eventually most spouses leave. Lisa is a strong woman and she couldn’t take it. God, I hope Riley can.

She nods.

Now the part that’s a little more muddied. “Might need some help with Mason. Lisa has a lot going on. I added your name to the approved list of people who can pick him up at school if needed.”

Riley’s expression is priceless, a disbelieving smile and pink in her cheeks. “Lisa was okay with that? Letting me help take care of Mason?”

I nod. “Lisa knows the drill. Has been through it herself. At the end of the day, we are all here to support each other. It’s the only way this works.” I take a deep, measured breath. “And it has to work, Riley. I’m not quitting my job. Not leaving this life. Please understand that.”

Something flashes across Riley’s face, but I don’t know what it is. She’s tough, but this can be a lonely life. It’s one thing to talk about the possibility of me being gone for long stretches with no communication, it’s another to actually live it. She shakes her head, gathers some of the items in her arms, and heads back upstairs. I follow. When we reach my room, she drops everything on the bed, then spins around to face me, index finger pointed at the mattress. “Dare I ask what all the socks are for?”

“Better to have too many. You don’t want to see what feet look like when they’re not taken care of. You definitely don’t want to feel it either.”

She shakes her head and helps me finish packing. Once everything is stowed, we stop and look at each other. I’m not sure what to say. She has an uneasy expression on her face as her hands rub up and down the sides of her jeans. Then she steps toward me, putting one hand on my chest over my heart that has started to beat faster.

I close the distance between us and circle my arms around her waist. “I know you’re still angry at me. I wish we had time to resolve the issue before I leave, but we don’t. Jim explained to me what your side must be like. I don’t think I can ever apologize enough. Just know I didn’t mean it in any malicious way.”

She nods. Her eyes are wet, lips pressed tight together as if she’s trying to keep from crying. “I know you’d never do anything to intentionally hurt me. It just meant so much to me to not have them think of me as sick.”

I hang my head. That had been pretty much the screwup to end all screwups. “I’m so sorry.”

She rests her head against my chest. “I know.”

I tip her chin up toward me and place a gentle kiss on her lips. To my surprise, her hands circle the back of my neck and pull me in closer as her mouth opens beneath mine. My tongue tangles with hers and a bolt of desire shoots through me like lightning. I’m instantly hard.

She leans back to look me in the eye, a sparkle there that makes something flutter in my chest. Her hand slides down my chest to my crotch, cupping me through my jeans. “How soon do you have to be at the base?”

I glance over her shoulder at the clock on my bedside table. I wish I had the time to take her slowly, to worship every inch of her with my hands and my mouth and my tongue, to bring her to the edge again and again and then watch as her orgasm crashes over her. I don’t, though. “I have a little time.”

She unbuttons the top button of my shirt and says, “I’ll take what I can get.”

Every muscle in my body tenses as she finishes unbuttoning my shirt and slides it open. Her hands roam my chest, pausing over my nipples, and sending a shudder through me. With her gaze locked with mine, she reaches down and unbuckles my belt. The buttons and zipper of my jeans are undone next and she pulls the hard length of my cock free. Still looking into my eyes, she sinks to her knees. She circles the head of my cock with her tongue and I groan. Her tongue sweeps up and down its length, leaving a trail of warmth behind it. I close my eyes and let the sensations wash over me. Then she takes me in her mouth, its wet-hot heat sending fire through my entire bloodstream. I reach down to cup her head as she slides my cock in and out of her mouth, finding a rhythm like a drumbeat that matches my heart.

After a minute, I can’t take it anymore. I lift her to her feet and practically tear her clothes off. In a moment, she stands before me without a stitch of clothing between us and I marvel at the perfection of her. I back her up until her knees hit the bed and she’s down on her back. I ditch the rest of my clothes.

I cover her mouth with mine. The sweet tangle of our tongues change into a pillaging. I want more of her. I want to go deeper and farther. She arches beneath me and moans. Still kissing, I let my hand slide to her breast, cupping its weight, my thumb circling the nipple. I’m rewarded with a gasp.

My hand slides lower, over each line of flat, sunken skin. Her scars are living proof of how strong she is, of what a fighter she is. Then I’m between her legs, tracing the line of wetness there. Her legs fall farther open. “Lucas,” she whispers into my mouth.

I slide a finger inside her and she bucks against my hand. I discover the rhythm she found with her mouth on my cock, searching for and locating the swollen mound of her G-spot. She undulates beneath me and I kiss my way down so my mouth joins my hand. Still with my finger inside her, I find the sweet mound of her clit with my tongue. She says my name again. Louder.

And then I sweep my tongue into that most sensitive spot, circling and toying as my finger massages inside her. The buck of her hips picks up speed. The blood is pulsing in my ears and in my cock. Then she’s pushing me away. I look up. “Did I... did I do something wrong?”

Her pupils are so dilated I almost can’t see the color of her eyes. “Nothing wrong. You did everything right. Now get up here and let’s finish together.”

After putting on a condom, I lay on my back and she straddles me, my cock reaching for her like another arm. For a moment, she stays poised over me, the lips of her pussy just brushing against me, driving me wild. I thrust up just as she glides down and I am deep inside her. I grab her hips as she begins to rock on me. Her body undulates above me, her hair a blond river falling over her face as she leans down to kiss me again.

Then she’s back up, rising and falling, taking me deeper and deeper inside her warm wetness. I slide my hand between her legs, letting her rub her clit against my knuckle as she rides. Her hands rise to her own breasts, cupping them and teasing her nipples, and I feel myself edging closer to my own climax. “Riley,” I groan.

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