Page 18 of The Grinder

It took every ounce of restraint he had not to grind against her or run his hands down her body. Her curves had taunted him all night. The woman had no sharp angles. She was made to be petted.

But not tonight.

He began to pull back but she followed him, going up on her toes to prolong the kiss until he was about to break his resolution to take this slow.

They were both breathing heavy when she took a step back.

Forcing himself to do the same, he fisted his hands so he wouldn’t reach for her again.

She swallowed hard and licked her lips before tilting her head to the side and all that silky hair slid over her shoulder, making him want to groan. Christ, he wanted to feel that hair against his skin. Preferably against his chest and his thighs—

He sucked in air. “So…I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

She nodded. “Will I sit with Lori and Bliss again?”

“If you want, yeah, I can arrange that.”

Her smile widened. “That’d be great. Since Vivi can’t go, I’d rather not sit alone.”

“No problem.” He’d make sure to give a huge thank-you to Cary’s wife and Shane’s girlfriend the next time he saw them.

Another quick smile. “Good night.”

He had to suck in air before he could answer. “Night.”

Then he waited until she closed the door and he heard it lock.

He was still smiling when he got back in his truck. Hell, he was still smiling when he walked into his apartment.

“Dude. Didn’t expect to see you back here tonight. Bad night? No luck, huh?”

Riley smacked Justin on the back of the head as he walked by on the way to his room.

“Fuck you. Great night. Going to bed.”

“Damn, thought you were too old for quickies. Although at your advanced age, I guess if you can keep it up longer than a minute, that’s pretty good.”

Riley kept walking through he did shoot Justin the finger over his shoulder. No way was he getting drawn into a conversation now.

“It’s past your bedtime, kid. You need to get your beauty sleep. St. John’s is fast.”

“Wait, are you really going to bed? You’re not gonna share at all?”

“Night, Justin.”

As he closed the door to his bedroom behind him, he smiled as he heard Justin bitch, “Dude, you suck.”

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