Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2) (12 page)

   “I think I knew I’d come back to you too.  It’s always been you, Riot.”

Chapter Nine

Give Her The World

Riot

   Memories flooded my mind while I leaned up against Kalli’s Range Rover, which was parked in the same spot it had been two nights ago when I had her body pressed against it.  When I’d been able to feel her under my hands, kiss her, and her body had been pushed up against mine.  I’d always had a hard time controlling myself when it came to Kalli.  And now, well, I was taking her to my hometown for the weekend.  We’d be surrounded by my mom, dad, and sister for some of the time, and I’d spend the rest of the time trying not to rid her of all her clothes and let my body sink into hers.

   Perhaps this was a bad idea.

   Months.

   Months I’d gone with just the memories of what it felt like to be with her, to have her body wrapped around mine, or to feel her pulse beneath my hand as I kissed her.  Then, last night, we both let down our guards for just a little while, and I was reminded of how perfectly her body was made for mine.  Not that I’d forgotten.

   This was what I imagined someone felt like when stranded on a deserted island, dreaming about all the food they wished they had.  I’d been trapped on my own personal island of hell, wishing she were next to me so many nights, and now that she was within my grasp, and letting me touch her, it was going to take all my self-control to not lay her out on any available flat surface.

   I heard the unmistakable sounds of footfalls and turned to see Kalli walking toward me, smiling brightly.  I hadn’t seen her since Wednesday, but we’d been texting nonstop.  I knew if I went to her my self-control would be tested, and I didn’t want to put either of us in that situation.  I wanted the exact moment I was having then: Kalli, without worry lines marring her beautiful face, walking toward me looking happy, radiant, and sexy as fucking hell.

   Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulder in a thick, loose, crazy braid.  She wore a long sweater that looked to be a dress, as it came down to the middle of her thighs.  It was a deep maroon color and was slouching off one of her shoulders, giving me a peek at her collarbone.  She wore black leggings that disappeared into the black boots, which were currently making the clacking noises.

   She looked incredible.  She looked like she was ready to curl up on a couch and read a book, or curl into my side and watch a movie.  Perhaps she’d purposefully made herself look soft and comfortable.  Either way, it worked.  I wanted to feel the sweater under my hands, and I needed to feel it bunching as I slid it up her torso and pulled it over her head.

   “Hey,” I said through the smile that wouldn’t leave my face.  She continued toward me, but didn’t respond.  She did, however, walk confidently to me, not stopping until her hand was at my cheek and her lips were pressed against mine.  I was surprised by her approach, but only let a second pass before I engaged in the kiss.  My hand found the back of her neck, loving the feel of her silky hair wound between my fingers, and I gave her a firm squeeze there.

   “Hey, yourself,” she said with a smirk after pulling away.

   “You ready to go?” I asked, as my eyes took their time wandering down her body.  The top she was wearing was meant to be loose and baggy, but I knew what curves lay beneath it and the façade drove me mad.

   “Yup,” she said, smiling as she swung her keyring around on one finger.  She turned and walked to the back of her Rover, opening the trunk to allow me to place my duffle bag inside.  Once the trunk was closed, I held my hand out to her.

   “Keys.”

   Her forehead scrunched in confusion, eyebrows drawing together.  It was adorable.  “You’re not driving my Rover.”

   “Babe, when’s the last time you drove through San Francisco?  It’ll be easier if you just let me drive.  It’ll be late by the time we get there anyway, and dark.”

   “I can drive in the dark, Riot.  I’ve been driving myself all over the west coast for years.  You just want to drive my Rover.”

   “You’re not wrong.  Come on, babe,” I moved closer to her, wrapping my arms around her waist.  “I just want to drive my girl home and hold her hand.”  I blinked down at her, using some overly exaggerated pouty lips and batting my eyelashes.  It was over the top and I knew I looked ridiculous, but I also knew it would work.

   “Fine,” she groaned, pulling away and slapping her keys in my hand.  “But if you’re driving, I get to pick the music.”

   “Deal,” I said, dropping a kiss on her lips, enjoying the way I could feel her smile against my mouth.  I walked her to the passenger side, opened her door, and watched her climb in.

   When we were on the road, music selected, her hand loosely gripping mine, it was as if we were finally back to normal.  Finally back to a place where there weren’t dark clouds hanging over us, or guilt.  I knew there would be many instances in our future where Kalli had setbacks, or bad days where Marcus would be at the front of her mind and she’d need me to hold her, or tell her funny memories I had of him and the few days I was lucky enough to spend with him, but for now she was happy.

   We fought our way out of LA traffic and started climbing the grapevine, which was essentially a ridiculously large, tall, and windy road that went over a mountain.  It was dry and a brownish-red color in the day, but with the sun already set, all we could see were the lights of the other cars on the road.

   “I have a question,” Kalli finally said, breaking our comfortable silence.  “I thought your sister worked on a cruise ship?  What is she doing in town?”

   “Well, that’s kind of why my parents’ house is full.  Halah came home for vacation and it just happened to be during her birthday.  She hasn’t been home in over two years, so my parents are throwing her a party.  There’s family coming in from out of town.”

   “So, I’m not just meeting your immediate family?” she asked nervously.

   “No, babe, sorry.  You’re pretty much going to meet every family member I have who lives west of the Mississippi.  Which is pretty much all of them.”

   “Are any of your family members from Lebanon going to be there?”

   I shook my head.  “No, we don’t really see the family who’s left there.  It’s mostly distant relatives now, as my grandparents have both passed away.  But my mom’s sister will be there.  She lives in Montana.  Seems my mother and her sister both fell for American men.”

   “I can’t wait to meet your parents.  I mean, I’m nervous, but from what you’ve told me about the way they met, they seem like people from a fairy tale.  And I bet your mother is just beautiful.” 

   Kalli was looking out her window, but her voice was wistful and genuine.  I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose your mother at such a young age, and I wanted her to feel like my family was her family.

   “They’re going to love you,” I said, bringing the back of her hand up to my mouth and pressing a kiss against it.  I wanted to tell her I loved her, too, to make sure she knew it, but I didn’t push it.  We were just getting back to being comfortable with each other, and I didn’t need to ruin it by moving too quickly with her.  She gave me her beautiful, carefree smile, but then turned back to the window.

   When we drove through San Francisco proper, I was glad I’d forced her to let me drive.  Her eyes were wide, taking in all the lights of the city.  I wanted to stare at her, watch as she took in the beauty of the city skyline.  I’d seen the city a thousand times, but it was all brand new watching it through her eyes. 

   We headed north through the city and I took a few opportunities to point out special places you could see from the freeway; places that had relevance to a special time in my life or a specific occasion.

   “Before we head back home I want to take you to the pier.”

   “That’s one place I’ve never been able to see when I’ve been here.”

   “Well, then it’s settled.”  We drove in silence for a few more minutes.  “Okay, so, I have reservations for us at the Palace Hotel, but my mom was hoping we could stop by her house before we check-in for the night.”  I turned my head for just a moment to look at her, hopeful she’d agree.  I wanted nothing more than to introduce her to my family, to make her real in that way, make our relationship that much more solid.

   “Riot, it’s almost ten.  Won’t your family be asleep?”

   I gave her a grin.  “When you get my whole family together, they’re a little rowdy.  Especially with Halah home.  They’ll be up.”  I winked at her, trying to ease her apprehension.

   “I’d love to meet them.”

   I kissed her hand again, unable to stop myself.

   A minute later we were driving over the Golden Gate Bridge.

   “This is so beautiful, Riot,” she said in an almost whisper.

   “It is,” I agreed, but couldn’t take my eyes off her.

   Forty minutes later she read the road sign alerting her to my hometown.

   “You grew up in Sausalito?”  Her voice was high and she sounded astonished.

   “I did.  Well, just outside it in Muir Beach.”

   I had barely gotten Kalli out of the Rover before the front door opened and my mother’s voice rang out into the night.

   “Riot Bentley, you’d better get up here and give your mother a hug.  And bring your beautiful girlfriend with you.”

   “You ready for this?” I asked Kalli, bringing my face just a breath away from hers.

   “Ready when you are,” she replied, sounding just a little nervous.

   “They already love you,” I whispered, just before I pressed a small, chaste kiss against her lips.  I took her hand and walked her to the porch where my mother stood, just as breathtaking as she always had been.  If Halah aged even half as beautifully as my mother, the man in her life would be the envy of all his friends.

   “My baby.”  My mother held my face between her hands and pressed a kiss to each cheek.  “You move away from home and you never come back to visit.”

   “Sorry, Ma.”  I took a step back and wrapped my arm around Kalli’s waist.  “Ma, this is my girlfriend, Kalli Rivers.  Kal, this is my mom, Samarah Bentley.”

   “It is so good to finally meet you, my sweet girl.”  I watched as my mother wrapped Kalli in a tight and familiar hug.  Kalli stiffened at first, but then I watched as she melted into my mother’s embrace, and nearly hugged my mother again when she winked at me over Kalli’s shoulder.

   “I’m glad to meet you too,” Kal said as they pulled apart.

   “Mara, are you holding those kids hostage out there?”  I heard my father’s deep voice call from the house.

   “Your father is anxious to see you,” Ma said, urging us into the house.  I took Kal’s hand and led her into my childhood home.  I’d never brought a girl home before, so even though I didn’t want to stress Kalli out with that bit of information, this was kind of a big deal for my family.  Halah had brought a few guys home to meet our parents, but life was different on a cruise ship.  It seemed like she fell in and out of really intense relationships quite frequently.  I guess when you’re forced to live on a boat with someone, normal dating timelines go out the window.

   I didn’t stop to give Kal a tour.  I could still hear my dad grumbling from the kitchen, so I headed straight there.

   I saw Pops sitting in his usual place at the head of the table, cards in his hands, and sitting around the table were other members of my family.  Pops half-stood when I made it to him, and I dropped Kal’s hand to pat my dad on the back.

   “Pops, this is Kalli, my girlfriend.”

   “Nice to meet you,” Kalli said, her sweet voice a little unsure.  I moved back to her, pressing my hand to the small of her back, trying to remind her physically that I was right with her, that she didn’t need to be nervous.  I watched as my dad took her outstretched hand, but only used it to pull her into a hug.

   “Kalli, it’s nice to meet you, too,” he said, releasing her and giving her a warm smile.  “We were starting to question Riot’s character, wondering how he was treating the ladies seeing as how none of them would come home with him to visit.”

   “Pops,” I said with a groan. 

   “You’ve never brought a girl home?” Kalli asked.  I shook my head at her.  Her eyes softened when she understood my answer, so I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

   “Kalli, my name’s Chad.  If you call me Mr. Bentley I’ll be looking around for my own father, God rest his soul.  You call me Chad, and her Mara,” he said, nodding his head toward Ma, who’d just come into the kitchen with Halah.  “And that’s the birthday girl herself, Halah.”

   “Oh, my gosh, hi,” Kalli opened her arms to Halah.

   I watched as my baby sister hugged Kalli, and something inside me shifted, was nudged right into place.  Something that had been off-kilter for so long I hadn’t even realized it.  In that moment, watching Kalli hug my sister, surrounded by my whole family, I knew it was the first time of many, and that brought me peace.

   “Ri-Ri told me you were pretty, but he didn’t do you justice,” my sister said as she pulled back and looked at Kalli.  I agreed.  There was no way to tell someone how beautiful Kalli was.  I could talk about her for hours, describe every single freckle, but I’d never be able to tell anyone how devastatingly beautiful she was.  It was something you had to see to understand.

   “Your whole family is beautiful,” Kalli murmured on a breathy whisper.  She wasn’t wrong.  My mother could have played an Arabian princess in an old fifties black-and-white movie, and my sister was more attractive than I’d like to admit.  It was hard to grow up with her as my baby sister, especially in her teen years, because I wanted to punch in the face of every guy who even looked her way—which was a lot.

   “Hey Hala-balloo,” I said, hugging my sister, relieved to finally lay eyes on her.  “I’m so glad you decided to come home for once.”  She pulled back and slapped my arm.

   “You should talk.”

   “No fighting,” Ma said, coming to stand between us, one arm around each of our waists.  “My babies,” she said, her voice soft and quiet.  “It’s been too long.”  I looked at Halah and she rolled her eyes, but more in a loving than sassy way.  We both knew our mom would be emotional if we were in the same room together—it’s the way of mothers.  After a long embrace, Ma pulled away and headed into the kitchen, which was only divided from the dining room by an island.  “Riot, Kalli, are either of you hungry?”