Page 23 of Unraveling the Truth About Love
Chapter Ten
THIS IS A dream. It has to be.Riley stood at the entrance of Savannah’s apartment—her choice. Josh had invited her to his apartment, but she worried that being seen coming or going from Josh’s apartment might raise eyebrows. She hated worrying about that, and when they were kissing on the train, she’d been ready to forget about sneaking around, but when the cool night air hit hercheeks, she realized that reality would be waiting for her at eight o’clock the next morning.
From the first time Josh’s lips touched hers, Riley had a hard time thinking about anything else. The musical had been a romantic and very enjoyable distraction, and helping her overcome her fear of the subway was the most thoughtful thing he could have done, but now, holding Josh’s hand, knowing theywere on the cusp of crossing the line between employee and lover, all she could think about was being close to him.
Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the key. Josh reached around her, pressing his body against her back, and put his hand over hers, settling the key into place. His breath was hot on her neck, and she closed her eyes as he turned the key, soaking in the feel of him againsther.
The door swung open, and Riley’s nerves caught fire.Oh my gosh! I’m going to have sex in his sister’s apartment. This is wrong on so many levels.Josh wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck, then nibbling her earlobe and whispering in her ear.
“Let’s go inside so I can kiss you some more.”
Who cares about wrong?Riley spun around and grabbed the collar of his shirt,pulling him into the apartment. He kicked the door shut behind them. She’d stifled her desire for him for too long. She wanted him, and she wasn’t going to let something like who owned an apartment stop her from doing what her body and heart had been yearning for forever. The need was too great. She worked the buttons on his shirt as they made out like horny teenagers on their way toward the bedroom.It’d been too long since she’d felt such a craving for wantonness. Josh pulled back long enough to rip his shirt off and toss it aside. He reached for her dress, and Riley reached for the light switch.
“I want to see you,” he said.
Not after all the skinny models you’ve dated.“I’m a little embarrassed,” she admitted.
He cupped her cheek with his hand—a mannerism that she’d already come tolong for—and whispered, “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
I don’t care if it’s a lie or the truth. You just got major brownie points.She reached for a candle on the bookshelf. “Okay?”
“Perfect.” Josh took a pack of matches from the shelf and lit the candle, then set it down on the bedside table. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and set it beside the candle.
There were onlythree steps between them, but three steps felt like a giant abyss. Riley moved toward him, and he met her halfway, reaching his hand beneath her hair and gripping the base of her head. His hand was large and warm, and as he pulled her into a kiss, she wanted to touch him, to feel her skin against his, but she hesitated.Will he think I’m too forward?His tongue explored the curve of her mouthand the fullness of her lower lip; then he took her lip between his teeth, sending a sizzling need through her revved-up body, and just when she couldn’t hold back any longer, he raised her dress over her head. He kissed her again, and she reached for the button on his pants, drawing them down without ever missing a beat of his warm mouth against hers. Josh stepped back, raking her body with a slow,hungry leer.
“Riley, you’re exquisite.”
She looked down at her black lace bra and the line of her thong. What she saw was so different from what he did, but somehow, the way his eyes lingered over the curves of her hips and the fullness of her breasts gave her confidence. She stepped out of her heels slowly, savoring the heat that filled the space between them. She wanted to remember this momentforever. His sculpted chest and arms were so different from what she’d envisioned beneath his fine suits. Even her fantasies hadn’t come close to the hardness and definition of his perfect body.He’s so handsome.
There was no music, no other noise in the room besides their heated breaths. Riley swore she could hear her heart thundering against her chest. Moonlight filtered in through the curtains,casting shadows that danced with the light of the flickering candle across the thick comforter. When Josh reached for her, Riley closed her eyes, wanting to luxuriate in the feel of his hands as they explored her, and she didn’t want to think past the next few breaths. She pushed away the worry of tomorrow, and when she felt Josh’s breath on her cheek, she opened her eyes.
He kissed her again,and she wrapped her hands around his muscular back. His skin was hot, his muscles rock hard beneath her palms. She slid her hand to the curve of his back, just above the waist of his boxers, wishing she could stop her fingers from trembling. Riley had been with only three men, but she was able to distinguish the difference. The nervousness she felt was caused by more than just being with any man.She was trembling because the man she was with was the only man she’d ever really wanted.Josh.
She’d dreamed of what his mouth would feel like on her for so long that she nearly melted beneath his touch.
Josh guided her down to her back on the bed, perching above her and looking deep into her eyes. He brushed her bangs from her forehead and smiled. “You okay?”
Riley’s voice was lost in histouch. “Mm-hmm” was all she could manage.
“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to, Riley. I wanted to take things slowly, but…”
She reached up and touched the prickly shadow that’d formed on his cheek. He was no longer Josh Braden, designer, employer. He’d become just Josh, the sweet, sexy man she’d had a crush on for years. No way was she going to stifle one more urge.
“I don’twant to go slow,” she said.
RILEY’S CURVES WERE luscious and full, different from all the other women Josh had been with. She moved with him, not at him like most women did. His other dates were always directing, showing, taking. But not Riley. He wanted to rip that thong from her body and plunge into her, deep and hard,but he held back. He wanted to savor their passion, to live in it while it was new and unscathed. Who knew what tomorrow would hold? Josh had lived his whole life for tomorrow. Tonight he was living fornow.
He lowered his mouth to hers again, feeling the satisfied fatigue of her kiss and arousing all sorts of licentious desires within him. Josh wantedmore. He wanted to be as intimate as hecould with Riley, to taste every inch of her. He hadn’t done that with a woman in years. It was such an intimate act, something he’d never do with a woman who was using him to move ahead, or with someone he didn’t see a future with. He was different from many men in that way, and when he was younger, he’d worried about that moral guideline, wondering if he were somehow strange to hold such a thingin high regard. Now, with Riley lying beneath him, her eyes filled with trust, her body open to him, and her heart filling his, he knew he’d been right to savor the sacred act.
“Ri, open your eyes. Be with me,” he whispered, bringing her eyes to his, needing that closeness. She smiled, and the emotions swimming in her eyes nearly did him in. He reached for her hands, lacing them together, andhe knew that come tomorrow, he’d have a hell of a time keeping his feelings for Riley a secret.
