Keep Her (6 page)

She leaned down and started kissing me again. Her urgency matched the way our bodies connected so forcefully. I wanted to feel more of her, so I reached my arms around her back to unsnap her bra. When her tits were free, I kneaded her nipples between my fingers, tugging with the tiniest of pressure.

“Oh,” she moaned, arching her back while she continued slamming over me. “So good. So, so good.”

I leaned down and sucked one breast into my mouth, pinching the pearl of her nipple with my teeth. She moved faster and more frantically—it made her fucking wild. Surprise, after surprise, after surprise. This was the most refreshing, unexpected, and rewarding lay I’d ever had.

“B, please tell me you’re close, too,” she panted in my ear. “I’m almost there and I want to make sure you come too.”

For one of the first times I almost didn’t give a fuck about finishing. Watching her have an orgasm was like witnessing a miraculous spectacle. It was fucking beautiful. But I wanted her to experience the same satisfaction I had, knowing that she made me come undone. One or two more powerful thrusts inside her tight pussy would do the trick.

“Turn around, Riles.” I helped her swivel her body so that her back faced my front. I gripped her waist, guiding her up and down. I thrust my hips upward, meeting each movement with my own forceful penetration. It was heaven.

“Fuck, Beck! Oh my god,” she screamed as I felt her walls pulse and then tighten around me. It was all I needed to push me over the edge, as well.

I lifted her from my lap so I didn’t let loose inside of her. We would have enough to think about after this… we didn’t need a pregnancy to further complicate things. I hated having to be on guard in this moment, but I guess that was the nature of cheating. Even though Marissa wasn’t technically my girlfriend anymore. I just couldn’t help feeling like a scumbag anyway.

Before I had the chance to bask in my guilt, Riley turned around, still straddling me, and rested her head in the crook of my neck.

She let out a sigh, and then I thought I felt tears. “I’m a horrible person. You have a girlfriend. What was I thinking?” Her shoulders started to shake—she was definitely crying. What a turn of events. This couldn’t be happening—but it was, and I understood why.

“Please don’t cry,” I said, caressing her naked back and hugging her against me. “It’s not like that. I promise you, it’s not. Let me worry about… her.” I couldn’t even say her name. It would hurt Riley more if she heard it. And if I knew one thing, it was that I didn’t want Riley to hurt because of me. “Riles, please, babe. Don’t cry. Let’s not ruin this.”

She sat up, looking into my eyes. “Ruin what? Are you telling me this wasn’t just some ridiculous one night stand, Beck? You have a girlfriend. You don’t want me.”

In the midst of all the guilt, lust, tears, and questions, the craziest thing was that I
did
want her. I wanted to be with her again. I maybe even wanted to be with her on more than just a sexual level. “I don’t regret one second of tonight, babe, if that’s what you’re thinking. But it’s late, you’re still a little drunk, and we shouldn’t talk about this now. Let’s go to sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.”

She perked up again. “Wait. You’re staying? Won’t she be looking for you?”

If we lived together—like I’d asked her to—she’d be looking for me because she’d be home waiting for me. But that wasn’t the case.

Pulling her closer to me with my hand at the nape of her neck, I whispered against her ear. “No, she won’t. Can you show me to your room now, sweet thing?”

Beck’s phone ringing woke me up from a dead sleep. When I looked at the clock, I realized we’d slept for a pretty long time, considering all the times we wound up screwing around last night.

That first time on the couch just wasn’t enough. We made our way up to my bedroom sometime past one a.m., after scarfing down half a pint of ice cream. After another glorious round of orgasms in my bedroom, we moved to the shower to clean up and indulge in some orally stimulating activities that had us wrinkled like prunes and the water running cold by the time we were moaning out each other’s names.

There was no denying, after that first time, I felt like a home-wrecking whore. But Beck helped me believe it wasn’t me who was at fault. Yes, I’d slept with him knowing his situation, but there was obviously something wrong in his relationship with Marissa if he was willing to go through with it.

I’d known Beck for a long time—as a cute child, through his gawky pre-teen years, his glorified high school quarterback days, and now his responsible adult days. He was a good person—not as reckless as my brother, taking random girls to bed all the time. Beck had morals and a conscience, so he had to be feeling like shit about now.

“B, your phone’s ringing,” I said, nudging his shirtless body.

He grumbled, pulling the covers over his head.

Oh, no, don’t do that!
I was admiring the view. I’d probably seen him shirtless millions of times, but this time—with him in
my
bed—it was so different. I’d always thought Beck was a good-looking guy, but suddenly I was more appreciative of his sexy dark features, his well-defined six pack, and those delicious, magical lips. God, I was swooning over Beck Matthews. What the hell was wrong with me?

Before I could wipe the drool from my lips, Beck was out from under the blanket, grabbing me.

“Come here,” he said, tossing me around the bed so that I was wrapped in his arms.

Mmmm
. I liked this, but I probably shouldn’t get used to it. He was Beck. He wasn’t available. He belonged to someone else. He was my brother’s best friend.

“Stop thinking, Riles. That wheel is running marathons in your brain. I can actually hear it,” he joked with his ear resting on my head.

“Yeah, well, for someone with such impeccable hearing, you didn’t hear your phone buzzing for the last half hour.”

He shot up from our cozy cuddling position to grab his phone from the nightstand and check the display. “Shit!” His fingers flew through his hair and then he banged his head purposely against the headboard.

“What?” I asked, like I didn’t already know the answer to my question.

“She’s been calling since last night. She’s probably worried sick and—”

“Fucking pissed. I know I’d be.” Reality was crashing in and I had to make like I didn’t care. Even if I felt like the green-eyed monster and the other woman, both rolled into one.

He stood up from the bed, searching for his clothes.

“Over there.” I pointed to the chair in the corner of the room. “And the rest is downstairs.”

After he’d pulled on his boxers and T-shirt from last night, he came to sit next to me on the bed.

I couldn’t help feeling so cheap at that moment. The room still smelled of hot sex and he was about to tell me all the things a cheater was supposed to say the morning after a night like ours. Like: please don’t tell anyone; it was just a mistake; I never thought it would go that far; it was the alcohol talking.

What I didn’t expect was what he actually
did
say: “Riles. Last night was—” He paused to scratch his head and take a deep breath. “Last night one of the best nights of my life, and I’m not just talking about the sex, babe,” he winked and smiled, melting away the insecurities for a moment. “I don’t want to talk about her with you, but you should know Marissa and I are on a break.”

And then the insecurities were back. I pulled away from him, immediately thinking I was some rebound or a form of revenge. He must have sensed my fears, because he inched closer, cupping my face in his hands.

“I know what you’re thinking and it’s not like that. We have a lot to think about, but right now,” he looked at his phone, shaking his head. “Right now, I have to deal with her. Can I call you later?”

I reached up to hold his warm hand in place at my cheek. It was a comforting show of affection from him and I didn’t want it to end. “I’d love it if you’d call me later.”

I could have said more, and maybe I should have. Maybe I should’ve let him off the hook and told him there was no way we could ever be anything other than two friends who had a little fun. I couldn’t see this playing out any other way, but in that moment, I really wanted to hold on to the possibility of more.

“Fallon, answer your damn phone, you ass! Great news! My dry spell is officially O-V-E-R!”

I’d tried calling him at least ten times, and it just kept ringing with no answer. This was the first voicemail, and he wasn’t the best at checking those. Fallon was notorious for having a bit too much fun on the weekends and going MIA for most of it.

I really needed to talk to him. Who else was I going to tell about what happened with Beck? I couldn’t exactly keep everything I was feeling to myself. I might combust!

There was only one other person who would
hopefully
understand. Tessa. But I had no intention of calling her and asking permission to come over for some girl time. She’d given me a key for emergencies.
This
was certainly an emergency.

By the time I’d driven to her neighborhood and replayed my night with Beck over and over again in my head, I was starting to weigh all the repercussions. I was already in too deep, already feeling things I shouldn’t be feeling.

I liked him. I liked the way we were together and the things he said to me. He didn’t have to say those things. He could have left well enough alone, pretended it was what it really was… a one night stand between two old friends.

A mistake.

But was it a mistake? Something that felt so good couldn’t be confused as a blunder in fate’s workings. Yes, I was a deep thinker and circling the crowded Brooklyn blocks for a damn spot, was giving me
more
time to think.

When I finally made my way to Tessa’s front door, I took out my key, reminding myself that she gave it to me with the intent to use it, and put it in the lock.

“Hello?” I bellowed as I walked in to the enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee. “Tess? I really need to talk to you. You’re not gonna believe what I—” I was laughing as I said it, but all humor vanished when I walked into the kitchen. There at the table sat a glowing Tessa, feeding Luca his breakfast—that part was normal. But the not so normal part was my shirtless brother, nonchalantly standing at the sink with a cup of joe.

“No. Fucking. Way.” My mouth dropped to the floor when I realized what was going on. He’d obviously spent the night. These two were screwing behind my back, even though I’d told them what a disaster that would wind up being.

“Riley? How’d you get in? What the hell are you doing here?” Marcus remained frozen at the sink, looking like he’d been caught red-handed.

Fucking red-handed, alright.

My emotions were on such overload from my night with Beck and their blatant disregard for everything I’d tried to warn them about. I couldn’t help but be angry. “Me? What’re
you
doing here? And better yet, what the fuck is this all about?” I waved my arms all around, pointing fingers between the two of them. “Now you’re playing house? Well, how fucking adorable.” Marcus had no right pretending he could be what Tessa—and Luca—needed in a man. And I really never thought Tessa would fall victim to his seductive ways. “And you,” I said pointing to her. “I thought you knew better. I warned you about this. Shit, Tessa! How stupid could you be?”