Page 50 of Rinkmates

He pulls me in, and my breast touches his chest. “We agreed practice kisses are fine. We need to kiss when you visit my game next week. We can’t mess it up.”

I wrap my hands around his neck. “We can’t.”

“As long as we both agree, we’re not breaching the contract, right?”

“Right…”

Our eyes burn into each other for another intense second, and then he looks at my mouth like it’s the only thing that could keep him alive. I can’t hold back any longer and lean in toward him. His lips crash against mine with a fierce intensity I never experienced before, and I can’t help but think that practice kisses might be the only kind I ever want again.

His lips move urgently, like he can’t get enough of me, and I press myself fully against him. His hand grabs my butt possessively, and I know this is just to show me how it can be, but just when I gasp, he deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue slowly inside my mouth. It’s sweet and minty and I can’t help but grip his shirt in response, pulling him closer until I don’t know where his space starts and mine ends.

He sighs softly into the kiss, as if we’ve found home after a long search, hungry for each other’s touches and tastes. His tongue moves fast, so slick and hot. I can’t believe it, but I think this is the best kiss I’ve ever had and it’s a fake one. I don’t want to stop.

I slide my hands up his chest, feeling the hard muscles rippling beneath the fabric of his hoodie, and damn, he feels so good. I squeeze and a sigh escapes me. In return, his tongue slides against mine and my skin tingles from head to toe. Riley cups my face tenderly for better access to explore my mouth even further with his tongue, and my treacherous mind explodes with desire as my body moves on its own accord.

I can’t take it anymore and practically jump onto his lap, straddling him as if he’s my ship and I’m the pirate ready to plunder it. Unable to resist the intoxicating scent of him, I basically attack his mouth. This is too good. Why the hell is it this good? It’s just a kiss and then—no—it’s not.

“Fuck,” he moans into my mouth, and it’s like he’s ignited a fire within me. I’m suddenly ravenous, craving more. This is nowhere near enough.

His fingers hungrily roam beneath my shirt. The intensity of his touch has me on the brink of surrender, not caring about the consequences. That is, until the unmistakable sound of a smartphone camera snapping a photo pierces the air—and we both just stop.

I open my eyes to see Riley’s shocked face.

At first, I’m stunned by what just happened, by how that fucking kiss felt—my heart stumbles as if I actually…as if Ilikehim, even though I’m not supposed to feel anything at all. And then the crushing realization hits: someone photographed us.

Riley’s hands are tucked under the seam of my—his—boxers, so there’s no way he could take a picture. We scramble apart as if our bodies are suddenly toxic, only to find the plumber sneaking photos of us. He curses, calling himself an idiot for leaving the sound on, and dashes away.

“Fucking asshole,” Riley grunts and dashes after him. I struggle to keep up and sprint to the door. When I reach the scene, Riley’s cursing and pounding against the closing elevator doors.

“Shit!” he yells, looking at me and probably realizing at the same time that the clip is out in the world already because there’s no way we can get to the plumber in time now. That’s the downside of living in a high-story penthouse. It takes forever to take the stairs.

There’s a cough and we turn to see Riley’s neighbor—a middle-aged man who looks like a Chadwick Bumpleton in a polo shirt—stepped out to investigate.

When his eyes land on me, on my naked thighs, Riley’s jaw tics.

He turns to me, his gaze icy.

“Get. In,” he commands.

I hesitate for a moment. It’s clear he’s angry, but beneath that, I see a flicker of something else—a protectiveness that surprises me.

That single grunt is all it takes for the neighbor to quickly shut the door and for me to get in. I hurriedly retreat to where I came from while Riley tries to beat the odds and runs down the stairs.

Fifteen

RILEY

Even though my name is Huntington, I lost the hunt against the plumber.

By the time I made it downstairs, he had vanished into thin air. But that didn’t stop me from making sure he faced the consequences of his actions—I called his firm right away and gave them a piece of my mind.

That fucker took an unauthorized photo of us. The nerve. I want him fired immediately.

Of course that scumbag is going to sell the photo and make a fortune, while those magazines spin some sensational tabloid story. But Liora…If it shows her skin. I want to be the only one who gets to see her like this.

I have no idea how much I’ve revealed since my hands were all over her, and I can’t even guess how far we might have gone if he hadn’t interrupted. I completely forgot he was even there.

My fists clench. I should’ve caught him, should’ve slammed his head.

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