Riley (The Kendall Family #3) (11 page)

Or what she’d believed was love. She’d doubted that after a few years, even before learning he’d been cheating on her. The sting of her foolishness still remained. Now she was glad he’d died here instead of her. If Riley hadn’t saved her life today, she’d never have known Jake had been the one to fire the shot. She turned to look at the Marine, who sat watching her with that softness she’d seen in his eyes right before shooting at him. Jake had never looked at her like that.

Was Riley different? Was any man? How was she supposed to trust one after this? All the years she’d spent alone didn’t seem so bad suddenly. At least she’d had no one to let her down. She’d never let her guard down again without knowing why Jake had wanted to kill her, whether a guy with Riley’s eyes was looking at her like that or not. She almost wished he’d stop it, even though she’d been dying to be looked at that way for as long as she could remember.

“Are you okay?” Riley asked, breaking her thoughts.

She turned away and lied, “Yeah.” Jordan heard him get off the bed and approach, his footfall surprisingly light for a man with his powerful frame.

“It’s not every day we have someone try to kill us. And when it’s so personal.”

She sighed and turned back to him, wanting to pretend he was as kind he seemed to be. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Is there any more to the texts?”

“No.”

“Okay. We know Thomas isn’t expecting anymore until tomorrow, so let’s look over the phone more then. I think I’ve had enough for today.”

“Then let’s get out of here.”

As they headed for the stairs, she asked, “Is there somewhere we can go besides your brother’s house? I know they aren’t comfortable with me. I don’t blame them. I just want to be, well, a little quiet for a while.”

“Sure. I have an idea. It’s nice out. Let’s take a walk.”

“To where?”

“A surprise.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I’ve had enough surprises for one day, too.”

Riley smiled. “Fair enough. It’s called Sunrise Meadow. A short walk from here. We tend to go there for peace and quiet, and sometimes to celebrate things. Why don’t I grab a few beers to bring?”

“Perfect.”

They soon made it to the kitchen, where Riley took two six packs of Guinness, chips, hummus, a cheese dip and guacamole, peanuts, and pistachios. Giving her a pat on the ass, he went to the hall and returned with a blanket he threw over one shoulder and a cooler bag he put the rest into before grabbing napkins, a bottle opener, and a flashlight. Jordan popped two of the beers open and took a swig before handing him one. Then they went back out through the garage and began walking toward the target range. To one side, a path opened up and they went that way across the grassy fields, dim moonlight streaming over them.

Between swigs of beer, Jordan said, “I can honestly say I had no idea this was how the day was going to end.”

He winked at her. “Not over yet.”

She leaned against him and he slung one arm around her shoulders. “It feels almost like a date. I hardly remember what those are like.”

He stopped and turned her to face him. “Let me give you a reminder.”

As Riley leaned forward to kiss her, Jordan’s heart raced with excitement that belied the angst she’d just been feeling about the horribleness men had to offer. Maybe she wasn’t as bitter or far gone as she sometimes felt. Hope lived. And it soared when Riley’s lips met hers with more gentleness than she was expecting. It was Jordan who pushed back hard, getting more enthusiasm for her efforts. Riley’s lips crushed hers and she had no doubt those powerful arms she’d wanted to hold her earlier today would’ve done so now had they not been otherwise occupied. But that could be fixed.

“Take me to this meadow,” she whispered, “and show me a good time, Mr. Kendall.”

“My pleasure.”

Before long, they approached a flowering hedge and trellis that marked the square clearing’s opening. On passing through, they saw flower beds lining the meadow’s edge, and though it was too dark to appreciate the colors, solar-powered lights in the ground made up for it by adding a romantic ambience. A large rose bush stood in each corner, and a two-person swing swaying beneath a giant oak tree faced the mountain looming overhead. Two picnic tables and a large boulder jutted out from the cropped grass, and a gazebo stood beside a stream-fed pool that seemed inviting in the humid, summer night air. Several boxes presumably held the cushions for the wooden lounge chairs, but Riley took her to the swing, which had a convenient attachment on each side for placing not only their drinks, but the snacks, allowing them to sit close, dine, and swing gently.

After a few minutes, Jordan felt the need to clear the air a little due to ambivalence about the discrepancy between having tried to kill him earlier and their seeming date now. She turned to him on the swing.

“I know you seem like you’re past it,” she began, “and with amazing speed, but I really wanted to say how sorry I am that I tried to kill you today.”

The long time he gazed at her didn’t offer clues to how he felt about it. “Apology accepted. I know you were just doing your job.”

“Is that really enough?”

“Not really, but it goes a long way. I can’t think you’re awful for that and still think I’m a decent guy when I had the same job for so long. I think someone else wouldn’t move on so quickly. I’m also a guy, so that helps.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’re funny that way. I mean I’ve gotten into good fist fights with Marine buddies and two minutes later we were getting drunk together, everything forgotten.”

“Maybe it’s the Marine in you.”

He smiled. “Maybe. I know you’re looking for reassurance and forgiveness. I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m more mad at Jake for trying to kill my dog.”

Jordan laughed, and then so did Riley. “I’m not sure you’re right in the head.”

Smirking, he asked, “Is that a problem?”

“Not really. If you’re screwed up, it’s in a much better way than others I’ve known.”

“Thanks. You sure know how to give a compliment.”

She squeezed his thigh and leaned closer.

They spent an hour talking of little things like what bands, movies, and TV shows they liked. Favorite foods and drinks. Personal characteristics they loved and hated in other people. Everything less important than the day’s events, basically. And nothing about the future or even past, for Jordan’s history was unpleasant and they studiously avoided that, though she wanted to know more about
his
life. It could wait… The beers slowly disappeared along with the snacks and realities of the world.

Inhibitions also vanished, their hands finding each other’s hand more and more, or a thigh. Lips met or nibbled on earlobes and necks. Tongues suggestively licked dip from fingers. Maybe later they’d trade stories about their scars…the thought gave Jordan an idea, for she’d been eyeing the stream-fed pool for a while.

“Let’s skinny dip,” she suggested, tugging at Riley’s shirt. He didn’t resist as she pulled it over his head and ran both her hands over his muscled chest.

“Great idea.” Riley reached for her waistband, snapped open the jeans, yanked the zipper down, and as she lifted her butt off the swing, pulled pants and panties off her legs in one motion, flinging them into the bush behind them. He stood as Jordan pulled his down with equal fervor. A surge of excitement coursed through her as Riley’s sizeable manhood sprang free, half hard and growing, a neatly cropped mound of dark pubic hair above it.

“Oh my,” she purred appreciatively, cupping his trimmed balls. With her other hand, she hefted his cock, the heat of it making her pussy tremble. And before she knew what she was doing, Jordan leaned forward, pressing her lips into his cock’s head once. Twice. Three times. The flush of desire surged in her face as her tongue snaked out to caress the head all around. A hand on the base of his dick felt one pulse after another as his penis grew in size and he murmured his enjoyment. That was all the encouragement she needed. Jordan’s lush lips parted and eagerly closed around his cock. Her mouth squeezed a few times before she began her slow descent while Riley stroked her hair with more gentleness than his next words.

“Suck my cock, Jordan. Let’s celebrate being alive.”

She moaned agreement and reached for his firm ass, warm from him sitting on it, but nothing like the heat in her mouth as she sucked his salty cock. Slurping sounds split the night air to join the summer bugs twittering away, making Jordan feel like this was the most natural thing she’d done in a while. Riley reached down and pulled his cock from her mouth long enough to lift her shirt and bra off together, her tits jiggling free. An instant later and she’d swallowed him again.

It had been too long since Jordan had been with a man, and years since someone she liked or even knew. Not that she really knew Riley that well, but she knew more about him than anyone she’d been with in forever. Jake had been coy, secretive, and hard to know, and after today she felt certain she’d never really known him at all. Between studying Riley’s dossier and just a half day with him, she felt closer to him than she had with Jake for years, though it was probably mostly illusion. This was something her life had been devoid of and she decided to live in the moment.

She needed to feel close to someone, too. Riley was right—the threat of sudden death today made her want to enjoy being alive. It’s not like she’d really been enjoying her life lately. Or hell, for years, but she was enjoying
this
.

From the sounds Riley was making, so was he, and she felt his penis swell in her mouth, his balls lifting up in one hand, and his ass clench in the other. At the last instant, she pulled her mouth away and turned his cock to one side so that the huge spurt of cum shot past her shoulder and over the swing she sat on. Smaller surges pumped more onto her neck and breasts, her hand stroking the throbbing meat possessively.

Gazing coyly up at him, she whispered, “You shot me with your gun.”

He smiled dreamily. “I kind of missed. Just a
flesh
wound.”

Jordan giggled and licked her lips. “I’m sure you’ll have more chances to hit the target.”

“You bet your beautiful ass I will.”

Riley yanked off his socks, then hers. Then he pulled her upright and tossed her over one shoulder like she weighed nothing, striding purposefully toward the water, hand on her ass. On nearing the water, she thought he’d carry her in, but suddenly she was flying through the air backwards with a yelp.

The cool spring water surrounded Jordan as she plunged to the sandy bottom, which her feet touched as she lunged back up into the air, water streaming from her long hair. Riley did a cannonball right next to her and disappeared under the surface with a splash. She jumped on top of him to keep him under, suddenly feeling like a little girl. He pulled her under into an embrace. Lips came together and they kissed until the air threatened to burst from their lungs. And then Riley rose with her in his arms, torsos pressed together as they breached the surface, sucking in a big breath, lungs heaving. Her breasts strained into his chest, hard nipples poking him.

“That was fun,” she remarked, breathless and grinning.

“We could both use some.”

“I feel like I haven’t had any in a long time.”

“Are we still talking about fun, or something sexier?” To get his point across, he lowered her until his half-hard cock brushed her pussy. She smiled and kissed him again, losing herself in the contact.

They settled into the refreshing water, alternating between giving each other massages, horsing around, and just relaxing in each other’s arms. The stream brought a slow, swirling eddy of fresh water through the pool and into the drain channel on the other side. Jordan felt more and more like her worries were washing away, and for now, she pretended that was true. There are times when living in the present trumps everything.

More than an hour passed before one of the many playful kisses became deeper, more intimate, and urgent. Jordan had straddled a reclined Riley, her pussy grazing his growing erection. Now she began sliding along it, bringing it to life as her tongue delved into his mouth. Those vice-like arms of his held her close. She murmured her contentment into his mouth. Riley responded by sliding a hand over the small of her back to her ass, fondling her so that she pressed back into his hand, her pussy giving a spasm of anticipation. And then he slid that hand between her cheeks and over the rosebud of her anus, on the way to her swollen folds, which he encircled but didn’t touch.

“It’s your turn for a release,” he whispered in her ear, “after I get you all wound up.”

“Oh please,” she agreed, trembling with need.

Riley pulled her up with one hand so his mouth closed over one breast. He shook his head side to side and her nipple hardened painfully. The hand on her rear rhythmically pushed against her rump as if to imitate his hips pounding into her. She wanted the real thing so badly that her vagina began to throb and ache to be filled.

His finger finally caressed her pussy, so she pushed back on it and he slipped inside. The water had washed away her natural lubrication, but once he was in, luxurious silkiness awaited. Jordan reached down and wrapped a firm hand around his cock, working the shaft, getting him prepared.

“You don’t have to get me ready anymore,” she panted into his ear. “Take me now, Riley.”

He pulled his mouth off her breast. “Got a condom back with my wallet.”

“Take me there.”

With strength she was becoming accustomed to, Riley hauled her upright, this time carrying her the way a groom carries his bride over the threshold. Out of the pool they rose, water streaming from their glistening bodies in the moonlight. Riley took her to the clearing’s center and gently put her on her feet, then gave her a brief kiss before turning away and striding toward one of the furniture boxes, cutting a sexy figure in the dim night. Jordan watched his powerful ass in admiration as he retrieved two long cushions. He returned and laid them on the ground, then went for a blanket and a condom. She lay down, spreading her legs for him and the man on the moon. He returned with his cock bobbing playfully, a condom already on it, a lust-filled grin broadening as she arched her back, bringing out every soft curve for him.