A Dash of Desire (Spiced Life #2) (9 page)

“Riley,” Berta said, sounding entirely too cheerful as she plucked Riley’s hand out of Edward’s. “I fully expect for you to come with Tristan the next time he visits.”

Riley wanted to hug her—hard—and then run for her life. Luckily, Tristan was no longer standing on her foot. She could make it. “Yes ma’am. I can’t wait.” She meant it too. Berta said something else but a familiar scent hit her full blast. She knew that cologne. Her gaze shot to the crowd, seeking out its owner. The panic rising in her chest was choking the air from her lungs. She caught a flash of dark hair and expensive business suit before the man slipped outside. It couldn’t be.
Please God. Don’t let it be
. “Excuse me, Ms. Daniels,” Riley said absently. Without bothering to glance her way to check the older woman’s reaction, Riley headed after the man.

The sun blinded her for a moment as she stepped through the door. She shielded her eyes against it and searched the parking lot with her gaze. He wasn’t there. The knot in her stomach eased, but the sense of unease lingered. Tristan materialized next to her.

“Do I owe you an apology?”

With her pulse still beating in her ears, Tristan’s question didn’t make as much sense as it should have. “Why?”

“You sort of shot outside as if you couldn’t get away from me fast enough. It made me wonder if my attempts to hang onto you long enough to get you alone were over-the-top.”

“Awww, you wanted to be alone with me?” she asked to keep from lying to him.

He snorted. The sound made her smile as much as his confession. Silence hung between them. Instead of answering her question, Tristan merely stared at her. The heat in his gaze wiped her fear away, her mind clean, and weakened her knees. His bottom lip was fuller than the top. It made her want to sink her teeth into it. She couldn’t look away. There was no way her every emotion wasn’t written on her face. Her panties dampened. She was
so
going to Hell. Every time he was near she became more and more assured of it. It wasn’t her fault. He was dangerously sexy. Her palms itched to touch him. Berta appeared at their sides, breaking the spell.

“I expect both of you to be at my house in thirty minutes for lunch. Understood?”

Since Riley sort of liked the woman, she accepted the excuse to spend the day with Tristan. “Yes ma’am.”

Berta held her gaze steadily. “If anyone tries holding you up, tell them I’ve got shit to do. Just because I’m an old lady that doesn’t mean I don’t have a life, do you hear?”

“You got it,” Riley agreed even as Tristan groaned. Probably because he knew she’d do it.

“Now, walk an old lady to her car.” Tristan offered her his arm, but Berta swatted him away. “Not you. You’ve got folks to rush along so I can eat. I’m not getting any younger.”

“Quit playing. You’re not old,” Riley argued as she helped the older woman down the stairs. “I saw the way Mr. Tarpley was eyeing you in there. If you don’t mind a little spittle, you’re golden.”

Berta chortled like a schoolgirl. “Oh, honey, at my age a little spit is a good thing. You need all the lubrication you can get.”

Tristan covered his eyes, horrified yet oddly amused as Riley helped his grandmother down the stairs. What had he done? The two of them together were likely to bring down the entire town. He couldn’t wait. With that idea firmly planted in his head, Tristan rushed the last stragglers from the building. Riley had agreed to spend the afternoon with him. It was enough to get him moving. Once he had everyone out and the building locked tight, Tristan found Riley at her car, switching her heels for a pair of flip-flops. She looked sexy as hell in her orange summer dress. It showed off a hint of cleavage. His gaze continued drifting to the exposed skin, lingering.

“If you don’t mind, we’ll leave your car here and take my truck.”

She winked. “I’m all about saving some gas money.”

He found her response amusing since she was currently digging around in the trunk of a 2015 Bentley. “Are you ready then?” he asked as she closed the lid.

“Almost,” Riley answered before snagging his tie and hauling him forward. Going up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his. He didn’t consider his actions or question whether anyone was watching as he deepened their kiss. When Riley was around, everyone else disappeared. By the time she pulled away, he was panting, and—inexplicably—his tie had vanished. He blinked at the spot where it had been. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone. His gaze shot to the scrap of material dangling between her fingers. His eyebrows rose.

“I’m very, very good,” she said in response to his silent question. She shoved his tie in her purse. He couldn’t speak. His mind was still attempting to process her boast. “I’ll just keep this.” Her mouth lifted in one corner wickedly before adding, “For later.”

He cleared his throat. His phone rang coming to his rescue. It was Berta.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Stop by Faith and Adam’s bakery on the way. Faith is going to bring some food out to you.”

“Yes ma’am.”

She hung up before he finished speaking.

“Saved by the phone.”

Tristan steered her toward his truck. “You say saved, I say cock-blocked.” Riley missed a stop. A spike of satisfaction ran through him. No matter what Riley thought, she didn’t have him pegged. He shuffled her inside the vehicle before he completely ruined her reputation. When they made it to Desserts First, Faith came outside with two bags in hand. She handed them through the window with a wink. She didn’t give him to time to thank her before she darted back inside.

“What’s all of this?” Riley asked, digging around in the bags. Tristan’s phone rang again, keeping him from joining her investigation. Berta’s voice carried through the line before Tristan had the device to his ear.

“Change of plans. Edward is taking me to lunch. Do
not
let my food go to waste. Take Riley on a picnic. It’s obvious she needs a real man to show her a good time.” Once again, she hung up without allowing him time to respond. Meddling woman. He loved her.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us for lunch. Thankfully, I know the perfect place.”

***

Tristan didn’t want the day to end. With a blanket spread across the ground in the same clearing where they’d caught fireflies, Riley was poking at her iPad and frowning. He couldn’t look away. Even as she gave the defenseless device the death stare, she was still the most alluring woman he’d ever seen.

“Is everything okay?”

Her brow cleared and she flashed him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I tend to work a little here and there. If I don’t, I fall ridiculously behind.”

“You survived watching me work today. I can do the same. So what do you do exactly? I mean, I know what you do, but I don’t understand what it entails.” Tristan couldn’t explain the change Riley underwent at his question. It was as if every ounce of passion inside her soul moved to her expression, lighting her face.

“Let me show you.” Coming up onto her knees, Riley crawled to his side before settling down between his knees with her back against his chest. With her head resting on his shoulder, she snapped a photo of the two of them together. Tristan stared at the picture as she uploaded it to Facebook. They looked happy. A surge of pride ran through him, especially as he read the words she typed along with it.

“My sexy sweetheart surprised me with a romantic picnic and Desserts First.” Riley nodded toward the screen as the hit “post”. “Notice how I tagged Desserts First. That way, it’ll show up on both of our pages. Since I’ve already built a loyal following of amazing connections, it won’t take them long to bite.” No sooner than Riley finished her explanation, the status received its first comment.

“Who’s the hottie? If I head over to my local Desserts First, can I get one of those too?”

Another comment came in on its heels. “
RAWR! I’m with Ronnie. I’d love one of those to sink my teeth into.”
A series of similar statements followed, degenerating as they went.

Riley waited a minute before responding.
“Sorry ladies, this one is mine, but Desserts First is looking to expand. Maybe if enough people get on board, you can lure some hotties your way. You know the sexy ones don’t get to eat. If you shake a cheesecake at them, you’ll have them hooked for life.”

Tristan couldn’t lie. He was impressed. “That’s brilliant. I don’t know whether I should be impressed or frightened by your skills.”

“Please be impressed,” Riley begged with a fake cry. “It may seem like simple chitchat, but I work my ass off.” The exhaustion in her voice had him tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. For the first time he took note of the smudges beneath her eyes.

“You do look tired.” He plucked the iPad from her hands and set it aside. He gave his thigh a pat. “Head here, eyes closed.”

“Oooh, I like this game,” Riley said as she did as he bade. “I feel like you’re going to start singing about giving me a big, fat surprise.”

God she was fun. “The surprise would be if you ever did anything without getting mouthy.”

She peeked one eye open. “When I get mouthy with you, you won’t remember your name, must less be capable of complaining.”

Running his knuckles across her cheek, he was driven to honesty. “I can’t wait.”

A tiny grin touched her lips. With her eyes closed, on her side, and her arm draped over his thighs, Riley snuggled in. He couldn’t stop touching her. His fingers rubbed each bump in her spine until he reached the base. Flattening his hand against her skin, he smoothed his palm over the curve of her ass before moving back up to her hip. Tristan did his best to burn the memory of her lines into his brain. When his thumb brushed the underside of her breast, he paused. His gaze traced her cheek. He absorbed every nuance of her expression as he allowed his thumb to caress the spot once more. His heart raced. The sensation of touching someone was such a small thing to most people, but he’d been starved too long. Devastated didn’t come close to describing the state of his heart since meeting Riley. He craved, ached. Inside his head, Tristan was screaming for her to need him the way he needed her.

“Riley.” At the sound of her name, her eyes fluttered open for a second, meeting his before falling closed once more. Her cheek shaped into a grin.

“Don’t stop.” At her command, his fingers slipped back to her spine, following the same pattern as before.

“What brought you here?” He needed to know. She had to stay.

“A Bentley.”

An inner sigh rang through his mind. There it was, the reason for his lingering sense of impending doom. It didn’t make logical sense for her to be here with him. “In a way, that’s my point. Your car alone easily cost more than most people’s homes here.”

Silence filled the space between them. Tristan swore he could hear her gathering her thoughts, deciding how to respond. “Billy is here,” she said after a moment. “Things are different in California. I’m different,” she added. “Even when I wasn’t alone, I was alone. I’m sick of feeling empty.”

God help him. He was too.

Chapter 7

August 28
th

“Come to service in the morning. I want to see you.”

Riley rolled her eyes—the same way she did every time they’d had this discussion over the past three months. No way in hell was she subjecting herself to Emma May’s spite again. The small of Riley’s back bit into the edge of the counter as Tristan backed her against it. Their hips bumped. His erection pressed between them. Riley’s heart slammed against the wall of her chest at the look in his eyes. If anyone had ever wanted anything as much as she wanted Tristan, she’d never heard the tale. Hunger etched every line of his face. It made her mouth go dry. She was weak, which really wasn’t unfamiliar ground for Riley.

“Do this for me.”

The way his eyes cajoled her, making her want to give him everything, it was her undoing. “What time?”

Riley knew the exact moment he realized she was giving in. Barely suppressed triumph laced his smile. Those lips…damn. She loved the way they tasted. Her tongue shot out, wetting her lips, and unconsciously attempting to capture any hint of his flavor from their last kiss. Tristan’s gaze dropped to her mouth.

“Tristan.”

He swallowed his name before she finished the last syllable. His tongue moved slowly, torturing Riley as it fought with hers. Her clit pulsed in time with every brush. When her hands touched his waist, unconsciously seeking more, Tristan laced his fingers through hers, denying her. It was always this way with them, especially since Billy had been pulling doubles at the hospital each night. Tristan was always there, rousing her desires. Enticing her. Rejecting her. That last one hurt. She couldn’t lie. It also confused her, yet oddly, kept her intrigued. Gah! She was such a mess. A groan vibrated through Tristan’s chest as he pulled away.

“I really hate leaving you. This is the hardest part of my day.”

“Stay.” Riley’s offer hung in the air between them. A half smile played on Tristan’s lips, and she knew he wouldn’t accept.

“I’ll see you at nine.”

Riley’s heartfelt groan put Tristan’s to shame. “Nine a.m.? Damn. That’s early. I bet God wishes y’all would cut an old man a break and let him sleep.”