Riley (3 page)

It took Maggie a minute to see what he meant. There was a soft blue light coming from somewhere. It was the only thing that penetrated through the dense wall of white.

“Oh, yeah. I see it.”

“That’s the beacon we’ve got set up at the edge of town for occasions just like this one. My brother is probably waiting there to escort us the rest of the way.”

She lifted a brow at the tone of his voice. “Is this the same brother you were talking to on the phone?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Cooper’s bark is way worse than his bite.” Riley thought of the sexual games his brother had a reputation for and then shook his head. “Sometimes,” he amended.

“Is he your only sibling?”

“Nope, I’ve got three others, and they all live here in Surrender. I’m next to youngest.”

“Wow, must be nice. I always wished I had a brother or sister.” She winced at the obvious wistfulness in her voice. She’d mostly wished she had another sibling so there would be someone to share the burden of being a Lawrence with. Someone else to be reminded to have impeccable manners and socialize with the right crowds.

“There he is,” Riley said, breaking her away from her thoughts.

A large black Tahoe with red and blue flashing lights was suddenly right in front of them. The Tahoe beeped its horn twice and started driving slowly away. Riley pressed his foot to the gas and followed.

Maggie didn’t take an easy breath until they were parked behind a bricked two-story building. Riley grabbed both their bags then opened the car door, letting in a frigid blast of wind and snow. He came around to her side of the car and helped her out. She grasped his hand hard as he led her up the stairs attached to the back of the building.

“What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?”

It was the first thing she heard as she was led into a small apartment. It was Spartan and neat—a couch, a chair, television and dining table for four sat in view of the front door. The kitchen was partially hidden behind a bar. Most importantly, it was warm.

“Ease off, Coop, and I’ll explain.”

Maggie crossed her arms and stared at Riley while he relayed the events that had led them there. She hadn’t yet found the courage to look at Cooper MacKenzie, but after hearing his bark for herself, she didn’t believe for one second that it could possible be worse than his bite. A man like Cooper MacKenzie would never take prisoners in his own personal battles. He was ruthless.

“I take it the woman shivering behind you is Doctor Lawrence?” Coop asked.

“Yeah, sorry. You didn’t exactly give me a chance to introduce her earlier.”

“My apologies,” Cooper said sarcastically. “I’ve just spent the last hour trying to convince a bunch of stubborn MacKenzies to move in with Dane and Charlie. Dane isn’t happy with you by the way.”

“When is he ever? Better safe than sorry though.”

“Agreed. They’re all there under protest, but they’re there.” He turned toward Maggie. “It’s nice to meet you, Doctor Lawrence. I’m Cooper MacKenzie. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need to.”

Maggie gathered her resolve and brought up the training that had been instilled in her since she was a small child. She looked Cooper in the eyes and pasted on a smile. “Please call me Maggie. I’m sorry we couldn’t have met under better circumstances.”

It was a shock to look into eyes the identical shade of Riley’s. The only difference was that she didn’t think Riley’s eyes could be that hard if they were made of glass. Cooper MacKenzie was no one to mess with.

“I’ll be trading off rotations with the deputies,” he said. “Someone will do a drive by every hour just to make sure you’re okay. We haven’t had any visitors the last couple of days so that should ease your mind, but we’ll keep a look out. Call if you need me.”

Coop shut the door behind him and Riley immediately turned the deadbolts. It didn’t take long for the reality of her situation to sink in. She was going to be stuck in an apartment for several days with a man she’d only known a couple of hours. Granted, he was a professor, not an axe murderer, but still. Not to mention they were pretty much trapped here if the bad guys did find them. There was one way in and one way out.

“Thanks.” She hesitated, unsure what to say next. “Thanks for not leaving me alone to deal with this. I feel like things will work out okay now that I’m not alone.”

He nodded and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone. She stripped out of her clothes and put on a t-shirt. She hung up the things she’d brought with her and noticed the big wooden chest against one side of the closet immediately. It was finely crafted and made of dark wood. The drawers had gold pulls and went from floor to ceiling. It looked Chinese in origin and very, very old.

She ran her fingers over the beautiful piece and decided to open a drawer. She didn’t worry about snooping through Cooper’s things. He wouldn’t keep something like this in the guest bedroom if it held his personal belongings.

Maggie gasped as she pulled open one of the drawers in the middle. She felt her cheeks flush with heat, and she tightened her legs together automatically. Inside the drawer was an array of sexual toys. She had no idea what most of them were, but she could certainly guess. She stroked her fingers over the items and then eagerly opened another drawer.

Her nipples tightened against the cotton of her shirt as she saw there were two full drawers devoted to different kinds of vibrators. Her panties dampened at the thought of doing something completely naughty. And it wouldn’t be hard considering she could use Riley to spur her fantasies. The thought of what would happen if he accidently walked in on her quickened her breath and had her adrenaline spiking.

She grabbed one that was flesh colored, her sense of adventure not great enough to masturbate with what looked like alien genitalia. It was close to eight inches long and she could barely fit her fingers around the base. With as turned on as she was, she didn’t think the fit was going to be a problem at all.

Maggie turned on the bedside lamp and shut off the big overhead light, leaving the room in a soft glow. She turned down the covers and pulled the night shirt over her head. It had been a long time since she’d come. Months. She’d been busy, but she also felt that masturbation was so impersonal. She didn’t mind doing it when her body absolutely needed the release, but other than those times she didn’t bother.

She flicked the button at the base of the vibrator and jumped in surprise with the amount of power that purred in her hand. She slid her panties down her thighs and crawled onto the bed, staying on her knees and facing the headboard. The dildo pulsed across her sensitive nipples as she rubbed it in slow circles over the pointed tips of her breasts. The vibration was felt all the way down to her pussy and she moaned low and long as nectar dripped down her thighs.

Her eyes were closed, and it was Riley she saw in her imagination. Kneeling before her and lapping at the juices there until his mouth closed around her in an intimate kiss. It was him she saw as she trailed the vibrator down her body to the soft curls that covered pussy, imagining it was his fingers that touched her intimately.

She held the base of the vibrator against the bed and spread her thighs, anchoring herself by placing her hand on the headboard. And then she slowly sank down with a torturous moan of pleasure. It was all Riley between her thighs as she began to ride.

The bed squeaked as her hips pistoned up and down. Her legs quivered with the anticipation of release and her fingers found the hidden nub between her folds to help move things along. Just a flick of her fingers had her legs tensing and her back bowing in a graceful arch. She sat down hard on the vibrator and ground her throbbing pussy against the mattress. She bit her lip to stifle the screams that wanted to escape.

Once her body was sated, she dropped to her stomach in an exhausted heap. But still it was Riley who starred in her dreams.

***

Riley knew exactly what caused the low humming noise he could hear through the thin wall. Their beds were practically back to back. Sweat popped out on his brow as he heard the first soft moan come from her lips.

“Shit. You’re kidding me. God must hate me.”

He rubbed his hands through his hair and finished stripping off the rest of his clothes. It was a good thing Maggie hadn’t wanted a tour of the apartment. It would have been hard to explain the manacles Cooper had attached to one wall of his room and the mirror that hung from the ceiling. Or maybe it wouldn’t have been hard. She’d obviously had no trouble snooping through the chest of sex toys in the other room and picking one for her pleasure.

The bed began to squeak and he could hear the light tap of the headboard as it hit the wall. He flipped the light switch off and lay down in the dark. His cock was as hard as it had ever been and his balls were drawn tight. He grasped his shaft in a firm hold and began to pump with smooth strokes in a tempo that matched the metronomic headboard.

Her moans grew louder and he could picture her clamped around his cock, riding him with the same enthusiasm. The thought of her heavy breasts hanging over his mouth, her nipples begging to be sucked, had his hand moving faster.

The bed hit against the wall with a jolt and he heard her long, ragged cry as she found release. Just the sound of her pleasure was all it took to send him over the edge.

“Fuck, yeah.”

Come boiled in his balls and shot up his shaft, exploding from his body with an intensity that stole his breath. Thick ropes covered his hands and thighs and stomach, and he kept stroking until he was wrung completely dry.

He grabbed his shirt from the floor and cleaned himself up. Coming to the sounds of Maggie’s orgasm had been as good as some of the actual sex he’d had in the past. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like once he was inside her. And he would be inside her, he vowed. Just as soon as he could get his breath back.

Chapter Three

Maggie’s eyes popped open the following morning with startling clarity. Her cheeks heated in remembrance of what she’d done. And the proof was staring back at her from the nightstand. The vibrator stood tall and proud, mocking what had seemed like a good decision the night before.

She sat up slowly and dropped her head in her hands.
What had she been thinking?
She’d not only never be able to look at Riley again without blushing, but she’d also never be able to look at his brother. It was obvious the sexual toy chest belonged to him. Which made her ask the question,
What kind of sheriff was he exactly?

The smell of coffee assaulted her senses and she squenched her nose up in disgust. There was no way she could avoid Riley in such a small space, so she got out of bed and mentally prepared herself for the task.

She walked over to the window and pulled the heavy curtain back. The snow was still blowing hard enough that she couldn’t see down to the street below. It meant they were safe for the time being.

She gathered her clothes and the offending vibrator and headed to the bathroom. Once she’d washed herself (and the toy), she dressed in loose gray sweats and left her hair damp around her shoulders. She rubbed cream on her face and didn’t bother with makeup. It’s not like she was trying to impress anyone. It was harder to convince herself of that little lie than she thought, so she deliberately turned away from her image in the mirror and snuck back into the guest room.

Once the toy had been returned to the chest she started to breathe a little easier. Now if only she could bring herself to face the man who’d starred in her fantasies.

***

Riley poured the egg batter in the frying pan as soon as he heard the shower turn off. Things were about to get very interesting with his house guest. He’d barely slept a wink thinking of the little show she’d put on in her room. They were going to have to fill the next few days of boredom, and it might as well be something they both enjoyed.

He’d decided at some point before dawn that sleep just wasn’t going to happen, so he’d pulled on a pair of jeans and tried to keep himself busy until she woke. His hair was still tousled and he hadn’t bothered to shave.

The force of the wind from the storm rattled the windows and he turned the heater up another notch just to make sure Maggie was warm enough.

He turned to face her as she came in, planning to treat her as if he hadn’t listened to her pleasure herself the night before. But his mouth dropped open at the sight of her and his tongue felt swollen and useless. His muscles tightened with desire and his breath clogged in his lungs. Even without makeup she was beautiful. He caught the gentle scent of her and the sudden need to taste her almost brought him to his knees.

“You’re up early,” he said. “I thought you’d sleep a lot later considering the excitement you’ve had the last couple of days.

Her face was as red as a tomato and he couldn’t help but smile. Did she know he’d heard every moan that came from her sweet lips the night before?

He served up the eggs and waited until they’d both finished before speaking again. “We’re going to be cooped up here a couple of days at least. What do you think we should do to pass the time?”