A Dash of Desire (Spiced Life #2) (5 page)

She peered at it closer, watching the series of lights as it called out for a mate. “No. Even with the holes, it’ll die. It’s not right to keep anything against its will.” There was something in her tone. An empathy that couldn’t be denied. As he looked on, a second and then a third firefly willingly joined the first inside Riley’s jar.

“Seems to me they want to be held captive.”

“It’s the glass. It magnified this little dude’s light, making him more appealing to all the little girl fireflies.” Her explanation surprised him.

“You knew that would happen.”

Even though he hadn’t meant it as a question, Riley still answered, “Of course. I told you, I’m an expert at increasing popularity. See? He has buddies now.”

The truth hit Tristan. Everything Riley did was calculated. What appeared as nervous responses to new and awkward situations were actually well thought out strategies based on other people’s reactions. Some people believed there were different forms of genius, such as those who are prolific in music or math. Riley was a social genius. She excelled in reading other people. It was an awesome skill.

“You helped him get laid,” Tristan accused.

Setting the jar on the ground, Riley shrugged. “That makes me the best kind of friend. For the rest of his two days of life, he’ll never forget me.”

Without realizing it, Tristan had moved closer to Riley until they were only inches apart. “I feel his pain. You’re stuck in my head too.”

A look of shock crossed her features as Tristan closed the final gap between them, capturing her lips with his. This time, the move had been intentional. His actions weren’t driven by the need to make her see him in a certain light, as they had been earlier in the day. Instead, it was a slow savoring of her flavor. The warmth of her palms sank into his skin as she flattened her hands against his chest. Tristan wondered for a moment if she’d push him away. As his shirt tightened across his back, he realized she was pulling him closer. Triumph coursed through his veins.

There was something about Riley. She possessed a certain quality he’d found lacking in every woman he’d met in years. She was real. He couldn’t get enough. A sound came from the back of her throat. Tristan deepened their kiss even further. The sky opened up, dumping a deluge of water on their heads. Riley groaned, pulling away slightly.

“Why do I always end up soaking wet when I’m with you?” Riley asked, making him roar with laughter.

Chapter 4

This was one time Tristan was going to have to own it. He was stuck installing a light fixture in the church’s nursery because he’d thrown the original work order in the trash. Emma May had taken great delight in informing him the workman had come and gone by the time he’d made it to the office. His moment of evil pleasure had been totally worth it. He’d had the best night in memory with Riley. After their scorching kiss, he’d noticed the rain had soaked through her shirt, making it impossible for Tristan to miss seeing her gorgeous breasts once more. He knew then he needed to cool things down and be the gentleman. Lots of bitching had ensued, but once his temper cooled, they’d been okay and ended up spending the rest of the night talking about everything from childhood to college. They’d both studiously avoided any talk of past relationships, but there were some topics too heavy for one date. Tristan’s steps faltered on the way to the register at Hunter’s Hardware. It had been a date. He hadn’t planned it, but there it was.

“Those Californians are some odd folk.”

Tristan turned his back to Hunter and pretended interest in a rack of garden hoses in case a sneaky eye roll got the best of him.

“How so?” Honestly, people were acting like they lived in such a small, backwoods community that anyone from California was close to alien life.

“Oh, that little niece of Billy’s was in here this morning. The one with the boy’s name.”

Yep. Keeping his back turned had been the right decision. If Hunter ever forgot Riley’s name, Tristan would give away his lucky hunting boots. Not to mention, every woman in Riley’s family had a boy’s name. Everyone knew it. It was a family tradition going back to Colonial times.

“Riley?”

“Yep. That’s the one. She bought a door.”

The words were delivered with such a lack of belief, Tristan felt moved to point out the obvious.

“This is a hardware store.”

“Well. Yeah, but ain’t nothing wrong with the one Billy’s got for her guest room now. When I asked about it, she said the new one has a bigger gap at the bottom. It lets more light show at the bottom, she says. Who wants a bigger gap letting in more light when you’re trying to sleep?”

“Apparently, Riley does,” Tristan pointed out reasonably.

Hunter nodded. “Like I said, strange.”

Tristan set the light fixture on the counter. “At least she came to you. I imagine they’re used to big box stores over there in California. She could’ve just as easily taken her business five minutes up the road to the home improvement place.”
They wouldn’t have asked any nosy questions
, Tristan silently added.

A luminous smile touched Hunter’s lips. “That’s true. For a big city gal, she’s a good soul.”

“That she is,” Tristan agreed, trying to keep the interest from showing in his voice. It was hard. Riley was a thousand things. Good, intelligent, funny, and sexy. He could go on forever. He liked it all. No good could come of everyone knowing it.

“Speaking of the Riley girl, do you think you’ll be heading out her way anytime soon?”

With his thoughts firmly locked on the memory of Riley’s wet t-shirt stretching across her chest, Tristan couldn’t make sense of Hunter’s question. At his blank look, Hunter set a plastic bag filled with metal pieces on the counter.

“I forgot to add this to her delivery when Charles took it out there about an hour ago. I thought if you planned to head out that way, then I’d ask you to carry it over. Plus, I can’t imagine that little gal hanging a new door on her own. Not that she could without the hinges,” he added, poking at the plastic bag. “If not, I can swing by on my way home, but she seemed in a bit of a hurry to get it done.”

The knowledge that he would get to see Riley again nearly had Tristan ripping the items from the countertop. Somehow, he managed to show an ounce of patience.

“I can do that. Emma May made me promise I would get this light fixture up today, but when I’m done, I can head out to the Upchurch place. I imagine I can be out there before you’re ready to head home for the evening.” Not to mention, he didn’t want Hunter stealing his woman.

“I’ll have to pass by the church on my way to lunch. I can hang the light real quick, if you can run those hinges out to Riley.”

If Tristan didn’t know better, he’d think the man was up to something. Of course, Hunter wasn’t that deep. Nice as could be, but not a plotting man.

***

Billy’s car was gone, but Riley’s sat in the driveway, proving either Matt had run it out to her or Billy had taken her to pick it up. Tristan added it to the list of questions he’d ask the moment he found Riley—right along with why her back door was standing wide open. He tried knocking, and then calling her name, but silence met his attempts. Giving up, he stepped inside and went in search of her. He’d been inside the Upchurch home hundreds of times. Billy loved to invite everyone from church over to visit, and he genuinely liked her. Not to mention, she was a good cook, and he wasn’t above accepting a meal. A low thump, like someone was moving furniture around came from inside one of the guest rooms. Tristan followed the sound.

Riley’s room was torn to pieces, with the exception of the door oddly enough. She’d somehow managed to hang that just fine without the hinges in his hand. Since the closet door was missing, he wondered if those were a match. As Tristan watched Riley covering every pane of glass in her bedroom with thick packaging paper, he couldn’t help but silently agree with Hunter’s assessment—she was a bit odd. Of course, she was sexy enough to offset any strange behavior. Luckily, she hadn’t yet noticed his arrival. It was probably due to the earbuds tucked in each ear and the music he could hear in spite of them. She’d lose her hearing at a young age at this rate. The knowledge didn’t stop him from taking full advantage of her distraction by staring at her ass. After all, it was perfect and he was a guy.

When she had trouble reaching one of the upper corners of the window, she balanced her weight with one foot on the edge of her step stool and the other on her mattress. The motion drew his attention to the bed. She was right there and he was right there. The bed was the only thing between them. It was also on the floor, missing its frame. That stopped his rapid descent into hell before it truly picked up speed. Casting a glance around the room, he spotted the bed’s frame leaning in the corner. It was one thing to have mattresses set directly on the floor if it didn’t have a frame. It was another when it did. In fact, several things about her room set off warning bells in his brain. Tristan couldn’t decide what it was about it that bothered him.

Testing a theory, he stepped fully inside the room and closed the door. A chain rattled as it slapped against the wood. Riley leaped from the stool in her surprise, losing her balance and releasing a loud squeak. With a Herculean effort on his part, Tristan somehow managed to close the distance between them and catch her before she hit the floor.

Riley’s eyes were wild with some unnamed emotion. From her vantage point in his arms, and inches from the floor, she stared into his face. He slowly eased her back to her feet. The muscles in her jaw ticked, as if she was clenching her teeth. She tugged the earbuds out.

“It’s okay,” Tristan soothed, unsure of her mood. He half expected she was going to explode into a rage at any moment. There was no other explanation for her eerie silence. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He kept his hold on her waist in case she planned to come apart. For some odd reason, the thought made him smile. Riley’s gaze shifted to his mouth. The panicked light in her eyes seeped away. She visibly unlocked her teeth, working her jaw loose. Her fingers tightened on his t-shirt, making him realize she was clinging to him.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on people.”

At her admonishment, he motioned toward the closed door. “Sorry. I—” She yanked, catching him off guard, and hauling him forward. Going up on her toes, Riley slammed her mouth over his, cutting off his explanation. The world tilted. His heart raced and his pulse pounded in his ears. It was immediate. Lust rocked him. Holding Riley in place by her hair, he grabbed a handful of the ass that had been teasing him only moments earlier and hauled her against him. Her hips cradled his erection. She rubbed against him, stealing away every ounce of his good sense. If he’d ever wanted anyone as much as he wanted her, Tristan couldn’t recall it. Her fingers stroked his sides. Skin on skin. The chain on the door rattled.

“Riley, Brother Daniels’ truck is out front. Have you…” Tristan jumped away from Riley as Billy burst onto the scene. The woman froze as she caught sight of him standing in the center of Riley’s bedroom. No doubt, he was also looking guilty as sin…and turned on. He definitely was that. A groan rose in his throat. “Oh. There you are.”

“Riley fell,” he said without giving her a chance to question what she’d—no doubt—witnessed coming through the door.

A loving expression touched her features as she eyed them both. “I’m not surprised. Poor girl. You wouldn’t believe how many calls I got from West Anaheim ER, letting me know my baby had broken another bone.” Billy’s voice hardened. “Especially, since my no-good sister, Marty…”

“Billy, please?” Riley said, cutting her off.

With a sheepish grin, Billy blushed. “Sorry darling. Sometimes I forget.” Riley crossed the room, and gave the older woman a quick hug. She toyed with Riley’s hair, tugging it over one shoulder and sliding her hand down the locks. “Anyhow,” she said, turning her attention back to Tristan. “My girl has a good job. She never would let me come take care of her, since she can afford to hire someone to do it.” Flashing Riley an exasperated look, she added, “This one has never needed anyone. Thank goodness, since Marty…”

“Billy,” Riley said, reeling her aunt in, once more.

“I’m sorry. It’s just with it being your birthday and her doing what she did, I just….” Tearing up, Billy covered her mouth. A sob still broke loose. Before anyone had time to react, she walked out, closing the door behind her as she left. Riley stared unblinking at the wood separating them from the rest of the world.

“Wow.” Tristan was baffled by Riley’s obvious shock. As she turned wide eyes his way, her voice came out in a horrified whisper. “She was crying. I’ve never seen Billy cry. That’s the same woman who used to make me pick my own switch when I misbehaved.”

A chuckle rose in Tristan’s throat. “I didn’t know it was your birthday.”

Riley motioned toward the door, still seemingly floored. “She once beat a chicken to death with a shovel after it chased me down the driveway. I was scarred for years.” Tristan’s chuckle turned to a full-on laugh. “I’m being serious. She cooked him afterward. I haven’t looked at a drumstick the same since.” Tristan swiped at his eyes. “Happiness looks damn sexy on you.”

He glanced away, uncomfortable with the change in topic. Happiness was one thing he knew little about. “Being in your company seems to have that effect on me,” he said, half hoping to fill the silence and half needing her to know the truth. “How old are you today?” He asked, changing the subject.