A Measure of Love (33 page)

“What the hell’s going on?” Dex asked, the eldest-brother streak in him causing a V to form between his brows as he glared over at Gray, who was talking to the girl he’d arrived with.

“Nothing,” Seb said before lifting his bottle of beer and draining it. “It’s a party, and I’m getting shit-faced. Who’s with me?” He cast an apologetic look at Tate, who smiled good-humoredly.

“Why not?” Dex said with a shrug. “This jet lag is already kicking my ass and a hangover tomorrow sounds all sorts of awesome.” He wound his arm around Seb’s shoulder and guided him toward where all the alcohol was sitting.

“Never a dull moment,” Riley commented.

Tate snorted. “Drama, drama, drama.”

·   ·   ·

The rest of the afternoon was perfect. Everyone had a great time, even Seb, who, after Gray and his girlfriend left, seemed to cheer up a little, although the way he was throwing back the Grey Goose and Red Bulls, he would be hurting the day after. Riley had tried to pull out of his brother just what the hell was going on, but he remained close-lipped, which was odd in itself.

Noah and Rosie played the day away. They had umpteen games of soccer before Park pulled out the small pool and the two of them (and a couple of adults) started splashing and throwing water around. Lexie stayed close to Riley for most of the day but let him wander and speak to the other guests, while also making an effort to speak to Riley’s family. Joan seemed to be slowly warming back up to her, but Park was still frosty, kind of the way he was still
being with Riley. Riley was slowly running out of ideas as to how he could ever gain his father’s forgiveness.

At around 8 p.m., Dex and Seb and a few of Seb’s friends decided they were going to take the party to a club somewhere. They got changed, booked a cab, and left. Riley was more than a little surprised that Dex had agreed. He was usually so sensible, and almost always the first to go to bed, but it was great seeing him cut loose. Maybe his trip away had shaken some of the pragmatism out of him.

With Maggie and Rosie having left an hour before, Noah was out cold on the sofa, the day’s festivities finally catching up with him. Coming down the stairs from a bathroom break, and after checking on the little boy, Riley found Lexie in the kitchen, clearing up the plates and glasses and filling the dishwasher. She wiggled her hips from side to side along to the music that was still playing in the yard, where Riley’s parents, Tate, Christine, and a few other stragglers were chatting and drinking.

Riley allowed himself to watch for a moment, enraptured by her ass and the way her waist twisted and curved. She was sexy as hell. He approached her quietly and reached out, placing his hands on her hips, making her jump.

“You scared me,” she said with a small laugh.

He hummed in her ear and moved with her. “You look great.” He breathed her in. “You smell great.”

“You feel great,” she said, placing the dish towel down and putting her hands over his.

“Our son is asleep.”

“I know. It’s late. I need to take him home.”

“Can I come?”

She slowed her movement and turned to face him. Riley didn’t step back and her chest pressed against his. She pushed her glasses up her nose. “You want to?”

He leaned closer and touched his mouth to hers, squeezing her waist as he did. “Yeah,”
he answered, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I want to.”

Riley lifted his hand and cupped her face. “Let’s go.”

Riley had drunk too much to drive, but he was more than capable of lifting Noah from the sofa. The little boy was deadweight, his small arms and legs flopping against Riley as he held him and placed him carefully into his car seat. Riley sat at his side, while Christine rode shotgun. Lexie dropped off her mother and, once Riley had picked a still sleeping Noah from his car seat, they made their way into the house. As was the routine that had slowly built up, Riley took Noah to bed, pulling off his small shoes and shorts and putting the sheet over him. He stood back for a minute watching his son sleep, bowled over by how perfect the kid was.

Riley made his way out of the bedroom to find Lexie standing at the top of the stairs.

“He okay?”

“Perfect,” Riley answered.

They gazed at one another for what felt like a million years until, after taking a deep breath, Lexie walked over to him. She reached for his hand and pushed her fingers between his. “I’m so glad you’re here, Riley.”

“Me too,” Riley breathed, his gaze tracing the delicate lines of her collarbone. He remembered just how sweet that part of her tasted.

“Do you want to do this?”

“This?”

“Us,” she clarified. “Are you ready for that? For me?”

Riley held his breath a beat. “I think so.” Her blue eyes traveled over his face. “I don’t want anyone else,” he added. “I don’t want to
be
anywhere else at this moment.”

“Good, because I want you. I’ve always wanted you.” She kissed him then, with slow, warm kisses that caused the blood in Riley’s
body to pump through his veins faster than he could ever remember. She slowed her mouth on his. “Could you love me again?”

Her question made all the air in his lungs leave him in a rush. “Lexie,” he gasped. “I never stopped loving you.” He held her face, letting his lips whisper against hers. “I could no more choose to stop breathing than I could forget what I feel for you. And believe me, I tried. For years. But I can’t.” Lexie slumped in his arms. He could see the words behind her eyes and he was suddenly desperate to hear them. “Tell me,” he whispered. “Tell me.”

Her voice was hot and husky in his ear. “I love you. All the world.”

“Lex.” Her name on his lips was a curse, a promise, a goddamn plea, and she heard it, loud and clear.

With her hand still in his, she led him from the top of the stairs and down the hallway to her bedroom. Nerves and excitement thundered through Riley as he entered, turned, and watched Lexie close her bedroom door.

He swallowed in an effort to wet his throat. “Will he wake?”

She shook her head. “Not until six a.m.” She reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it up and over her head, leaving her in nothing but her black underwear.

She was just as exquisite as he remembered. In fact, his memories had not done her justice. He’d known her body intimately since he was eighteen, and from teenager to young woman and to her now being a mother, he’d watched in amazement as parts of her softened and altered. Her skin was pale and clear, making the darkness of her nipples even more prominent. He was suddenly hit with the most erotic thought, that the breasts that he knew so well had fed their son. He moaned low in his throat when he remembered the texture of them on his own tongue.

“Let me see you,” she whispered, both of them still, breathing heavily in the soft evening air breezing through the open window.

Oxygen shuddered from Riley’s lungs as he reached over his
head and pulled his T-shirt up and off. The way Lexie’s stare roamed down his chest, over his shoulders, to his hips made his eyes roll. She was four feet away, but he could feel every part that her gaze touched. She was first to move, her body lithe and gorgeous. She bridged the gap between them and Riley closed his eyes in anticipation of her touch. But it never came. Instead, she walked around him, coming to a stop at his back. She blew on the nape of his neck and he inhaled at the sensation.

“I’d almost forgotten how beautiful you are.” Her mouth was just inches from his ear.

Riley jumped and sucked in a breath when her hands gripped his waist. They moved up slowly to his rib cage and she squeezed gently. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm his body down. It was an exercise in futility; he was about ready to fucking explode.

Lexie’s hands moved up farther until her palms were pressed against his shoulder blades. She placed a gentle kiss on his spine and he groaned at the contact. Her lips were warm and felt so fucking good. Riley desperately wanted to turn so he could devour her, but her touch had him all but paralyzed. Her tongue flicked from his shoulder to his neck, and he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

Lexie moved her arms under his, her fingertips skimming all the way down until she reached his jeans fly. He knew she could feel how hard he was for her as she took hold of the zipper and pulled it down, leaving the material gaping. Her hand snaked into the denim and Riley’s entire body tensed while her other hand ghosted over his chest, circling his nipple. Riley panted.

“Jesus, Lex.” He could feel her tits pressed against his back and ached to have them in his hands and mouth.

“I know.” She moved slowly to stand in front of him, leaving her right hand behind him to trail across his ass before giving it a little squeeze. “It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?”

Without another word, Riley bent down slowly and let his tongue flick Lexie’s right nipple.
She arched slightly and her hands gripped his hair. His tongue twisted and turned over her while his hands moved to her waist. Her skin burned under his palms and made Riley’s entire body ignite with want. He lifted his head and moved to her left breast, repeating the movements of his tongue, flicking her, sucking her skin into his mouth tightly, reveling in her sounds of pleasure. He knew he was driving her insane, just as she was him.

Riley lifted his head and stood straight, their faces mere inches apart. He hummed as he licked his lips. “I love your taste.” Her breath caught. “Let me see more.” He grabbed the edge of her panties and pushed them down. She wobbled slightly. He put his arm quickly around her waist and held her tightly. “Easy, baby.”

Her hands held his face. “I’ve thought about this for so long.”

“About what?”

“You.”

He pushed his nose to the side of hers. “What did you think about? Tell me.”

“Your touch.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere.”

“Lex,” Riley whispered. “Show me.”

Without hesitation, she stepped back from his embrace and lowered her hand down her stomach, rubbing it gently over her hip. Riley watched her every move as he pushed his jeans and underwear down. He was unable to resist grazing a hand over himself—his hard-on was borderline painful—and heard Lexie suck in a quick breath.

He smiled, knowing from the look in her eye what she was about to do, and watched as she pressed her middle finger to her clit.
Fuck.
She rotated her finger a few times, whimpering, before her index finger joined the party. He could see how wet she was; her fingers moved so easily. Riley grunted and took a step toward
her, imagining it was his hand or his cock that was making her feel that way. He wanted his mouth on her. He wanted to lick and taste her all over and then let her do the same to him.

He imagined his cock in her mouth and groaned louder.

With that thought, Riley tugged Lexie’s hand away and lifted her off the floor, grabbing her under the knees and around her back. Her lips found his, frantic and hot, as he carried her over to the bed and laid her down, pushing his tongue into her mouth as he fell on top of her. Her fingers knotted deliciously in his hair and he panted into her mouth. Their movements were fast, disorganized, and impatient. His cock brushed over her heat repeatedly, their hips pushing against one another, frenzied and desperate.

Kissing her soundly, he pushed himself up onto his hands and shifted down her body. Using his fingers to spread her open, he took her clit between his lips and sucked, making her body buck under him. He laid his forearm across her stomach and licked and feasted on her like a starving man. Her wetness coated his face, filled his senses. He pushed his hips against the bed, needing something, needing anything, to ease the pressure.

“Coming!”

Yeah, Riley knew, and as soon as he pushed two fingers into her, she detonated around him. Riley closed his eyes, basking in the heat, wetness, and noise of her. She ground against his face, gasping, and whimpering for more.

“More, Lex?” he gasped, moving back up her body and kissing her neck. He tilted his hips, causing his full length to rub her.

“Yes,” she answered, grabbing at his face and pulling it down to kiss him again.

“How do you want me?”

She stopped moving. “Inside. I want.” She licked his neck, letting her tongue linger on his jaw. “You inside me. I’m so empty.”

Riley’s grip on her tightened and his entire body tensed. “Shit. Can I— Do we need . . . I mean, can we?” He’d only ever gone
without a condom once, and that had been with Lexie the night they conceived their son. He was always careful, but he wanted her to feel safe.

Lexie kissed his shoulder and moved her hands around his neck. “Yes. It’s okay.” She whispered the word like it was a secret between them. He moved his hips again and whispered her name. She moved her mouth back to his ear. “Fuck me, Riley.”

As soon as the last letter of his name left her mouth, he spread her legs as wide as they would go and slammed into her. She cried out, wrapping her legs around him, locking her feet around his thighs. He groaned loudly against her shoulder. Then he pulled back and drove into her again, harder than before. “You feel so fucking good.” And it was the truth. Of all the women he’d been with over the years, no one made Riley’s spine burn or his cock pulse like Lexie.

Lexie grabbed his ass and squeezed as he began thrusting. Like oil, his words seemed to make her body slicker and wetter.

Goddamn.
He slipped farther in; he was so deep inside her. “More,” she called out before she leaned into his shoulder and bit him hard. He yelled but didn’t stop moving, grabbing her face and kissing her as hard as he could, leading her tongue out of her mouth so that he could suck on it. Jesus
fucking
Christ, he couldn’t get close enough. He needed more.

He groaned and gripped her hips harder.

“Yes.” She moaned against him. “Give me more. I missed it. I missed you.”

Riley pulled his hips back until he was almost out of her completely before crashing back into her, over and over. His mouth found her left tit again and sucked on it, biting and nibbling on the skin, before moving to the other. She dragged her nails down his back, then up again into his hair and to his face.