Everything But Page 12

  “Seriously,” she asked, “how pissed at me are you?”

  “I think I’ll get over it.”

  She looked down at his Adam’s apple and then returned her eyes to his. “You know why I did that, right?”

  “I have my suspicions.”

  “Yeah, well, be glad I didn’t follow through with the whole plan.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What was the whole plan?”

  Her mouth screwed up into another smile. “To leave you like that for hours.”

  He grinned. “As it was, your plan didn’t work.”

  She wrinkled her brow. “It did enough. I left you there, suffering, and then added the humiliation of having a complete stranger come up to turn you loose.”

  Riley’s smile ate up his face. “Guess you shouldn’t have sent a fan.” A quizzical look passed over her face. “Let’s just say she didn’t unlock the handcuffs right away. She felt pretty bad for me.”

  Erin gasped. “You’re kidding.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Guess you’ll never know for sure.” She felt almost horrified, but, she supposed, if he was cuffed, could he really help it? Still…he didn’t have to tell her. He lowered his voice. “So…are we done with handcuffs?”

  She grinned up at him. “Probably a good idea, don’t you think?”

  His face looked a little more serious. “Think we’ll do all right without them?”

  “We’ll just have to improvise.”

  As he leaned over, burying her in a passionate kiss, they heard his mom come back in the house. He broke away and said, under his breath, “What the hell?”

  “Riley?” His mother’s heels clicked on the wooden floor hallway outside his door.

  He rolled his eyes and urged Erin forward so he could open the door. “Yeah, mom?”

  She cleared her throat. “I just wanted to let you know there are leftovers in the refrigerator if you get hungry.” Riley nodded and Erin tried not to look guilty. His mother acted like she wanted to say something. It was obvious to Erin that his mother was not happy that they’d been behind a closed door and a bedroom door at that. But, Erin thought, if his mother had known all the things they’d already done, and if Erin was reading his mother’s vibes correctly, the woman wouldn’t be leaving right now. She’d be quoting Bible verses and urging them to repent. As it was, she hadn’t a clue. “And you could show Erin the pool table and other games in the basement. She might enjoy that.”

  Riley nodded and looked at Erin. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to show you that stuff.”

  She smiled. “I’m game.”

  Riley kissed his mom on the cheek. “Have a good time, mom.”

  Erin could tell his mother was reluctant when she said, “You too.” And as the woman walked back down the hall, Erin remembered she was one of the more conservative board members. In all fairness, though, at least she wasn’t a book banner. She had that in her favor. Good thing too, because Erin, being an English major, was against censorship of any kind. Granted, that didn’t mean she planned to be irresponsible and have her high school students reading pornography, but she didn’t feel it was her job to tell other people what they couldn’t read. Besides that, history showed that if you told people not to do something, a good majority of them would run right out and do it…including reading a banned book.

  Riley slid his hand back around Erin’s waist and held her to his side, but his mother didn’t turn back around. They heard the front door close again. “That wasn’t awkward, was it?”

  Erin giggled. “How long before she comes back again?”

  “She better hurry before I get all your clothes off you.”

  She grinned and said, “I thought you were going to show me the pool table.”

  “I will…later.” He cleared his throat. “Unless, of course, you wanted to christen the damn thing.”

  But he must have read her mind. Yeah, she’d teased him and left him in the lurch yesterday, but she really had wanted nothing more than to be with him again. She didn’t care that he’d be gone in less than a week. She wanted him now and for as long as she could enjoy him, and she wanted to fuck him.

  They went back in his room and he closed the door. She said, “Think we’re safe?”

  He smiled, pulling her close. “Only one way to find out.”

  “You realize your mother could have me fired, right?”

  “For what?”

  “For whatever.” She looked down but then swept her eyes back up to meet with his. “So we better make it worth it.” She wrapped her hand around his neck, inviting him to kiss her on the lips and lifted her head up so he could.

  Riley took her invitation, and Erin realized that, for probably the first time since they’d gotten together, there wasn’t much finesse to it. She knew why too. If he felt half as desperate as she did, he wanted her and needed her and felt little patience for the trappings of foreplay, especially after yesterday. So she wasn’t going to waste any time. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up to his underarms where he took over, pulling it over his head and tossing it aside. And, oh…there were his dog tags. She wasn’t going to examine them right now, but just noticing them close up got her excited. Holy shit! She was fucking a real, honest-to-God rock star. And it wasn’t in a bathroom stall or her down on her knees polishing his gun. It was mutual, and as that thought sunk in, she realized she was fully ready and even close to orgasm. And the encounters they’d already experienced just primed her more.

  And, really, Riley wasn’t just a rock star. In the short time she’d gotten to know him, she’d grown to like him. She still wasn’t sure if his whole cocky demeanor was just an act, but she thought she’d started to see underneath it all. Her first indication had been when they were making out on her couch after the dinner / dance for auction winners, how hurt he’d seemed when she’d turned him down. He was a real guy underneath the bad boy exterior.

  Not that she didn’t like the bad boy shell around him. In fact, that had been what had caught her interest first. There was nothing more attractive than a super-confident guy who knew what he wanted and didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought. She’d been drawn to his looks, but dropping five-hundred on her just because he could and to hell with everyone else…that had started her thinking differently about him.

  And, if she wasn’t mistaken, his feelings toward her were similar. After all, he kept coming back for more, and she doubted anyone else had ever left him like she had the night before, at least not since he’d become famous. She’d done it because she wanted him to know he couldn’t just treat her like trash simply because he was the big, bad rock star and she was a lowly teacher.

  But she didn’t get that vibe from him.

  She hoped she was right.

  And the analytical thoughts left her head as Riley unbuttoned the top of her dress, exposing the light blue lacy bra underneath. In a series of short, quick motions, he had the sleeves off her shoulders and her bra undone, pulled down just enough to expose her breasts. He grasped them both with his greedy hands and licked the nipple of one until it turned hard and pebbly, then drew it in his mouth, causing Erin to gasp and dig her nails into his back. Her heart started pounding against her chest as her breath turned ragged.

  No more wasting time. She undid his belt with the big silver skull buckle on front, but she didn’t plan to waste time pulling the belt off. Instead, she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down just a little, just enough. Then she pulled his underwear down too and took his titanium-hard cock in her small hands and squeezed it as though he were a tube of toothpaste. He let out a hot breath on the skin between her breasts and pulled up her skirt, pulling on her tiny lacy panties so hard they ripped.

  She gasped and then giggled and he looked at her. There was an amused glimmer in his eyes, but overpowering that was a ravenous look. God, he was going to eat her. And she was delighted. She brought her hand up to her mouth and licked the palm, then grabbed his cock again and massaged it. S
he held it like a microphone, except she was swirling her thumb over the eye. God, he was ready. He was already oozing, and she kept rubbing him with her thumb. His eyes rolled back in his head and he pulled the wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it and yanked a condom out, then dropped the wallet and it swung by the chain hanging from one of his belt buckles. He was struggling with opening the wrapper, and Erin knew it was because her fingers were distracting the shit out of him. She started kissing his neck, just to add to the whole fun, frenzied moment.

  He was clenching his jaw as he brought the condom down to his dick, and he tried to be gentle as he pulled her hand away. Her voice was raspy when she asked, “Do you want my help?”

  “Jesus…I don’t think I can handle any more help.”

  She giggled again until he buried her mouth with his, his tongue dancing with hers. He slid his hands under her arms and lifted her up against the door, then slid her down right on his cock, her legs wrapped around his hips. She let out a moan. “Oh, God, Riley. Oh, God!”

  She could barely hear him when he said, “You like that?” He was breathless, getting a workout between pumping her full of himself and holding her up as though she were a little rag doll.

  “Yeah…” She sounded as out of breath as he did. Another moan ushered from her lips. “You feel fuckin’ incredible.”

  “Oh, Jesus…keep talking like that.”

  Her breath was growing shallow as she got close. She was hardly able to ask, “Like…what?”

  “Keep cursing. God, that’s fucking sexy as hell.”

  And then she couldn’t concentrate. She was close and she wanted to arouse him more but she’d never had a guy ask her to talk dirty to him, especially in the heat of the moment. Her mind struggled with what to say, and she was afraid that whatever she said now would sound stupid and contrived…silly even.

  But then she remembered a Spawn song off their second album, one called “Tempted.” It was one of the filthiest songs she’d ever heard, and she remembered how sexy Riley’s voice had sounded in it. His voice had been low and breathy and she remembered more than once feeling aroused just hearing it. How would he feel hearing his words on her tongue, delivered in much the same manner he’d done?

  Only one way to find out. The only thing she’d have to remember would be to change the word girl to boy. “You’re so hot, boy,/ Have no fear of hell./ Can you feel me?/ More to me than I could tell./ I taste your flames,/ You burn, fucking consume me,/ Taste me, eat me up, I’ll never get enough.” The song continued in her head, “Tempted and couldn’t say no…”

  He growled then, clenching his jaw, and she could tell he liked it. She tilted her pelvis forward as one of his hands slid down, cupping her ass. He followed it with the other, and she figured it was so he could focus all his attention there. And that was all it took for her. Her moans collapsed into something near a scream, but she gasped, gritting her teeth as her legs clamped around his hips, pulling him in as far as he would go, his relentless pounding fueling the waves of her orgasm. “God, Riley…” she gasped, spent, but she kept her legs wrapped around his thighs, unwilling to let him go until he released too.

  And he did. She heard another low growl forming in his throat but he slowed down. He was still driving hard but she knew he was experiencing climax too. His teeth were clenched, his eyes held shut. He slowed down more, finally stopping but still holding her up. She realized she’d had her fingernails embedded in his shoulders, and she hoped she hadn’t hurt him.

  His breathing slowed and he started chuckling. When he continued, Erin asked, “What?”

  “God…I think you’re the first woman to ever use my own words against me.”

  She started laughing. “Well, you kind of put me on the spot. I’m not a girl who’s good at talking dirty, so I tried to think of the dirtiest, sexiest thing I could.”

  He held his forehead to hers. God, the look in his eyes was intense. His eyes were dark then, and Erin breathed in deeply. He smelled so good and felt so purely masculine, so strong at that moment, and she never wanted to forget this one perfect second in time. He said, “Really? You thought that was sexy?”

  She smiled. “Hell, yeah. My God, what you did with your voice in that song…gave me shivers.”

  “Really? I thought that was just a guy thing…liking songs like that.”

  “You mean you never heard a girl tell you she totally loved that song?”

  “I don’t talk about my music much with other women.”

  She shrugged her shoulders as he lowered her to the floor. Her neck felt a little sore having been slammed into the door more than once but she felt fantastic. He pulled the condom off, then pulled his underwear and pants up and leaned over, picking up the lacy blue panties and handing them to her. They were shredded. He winced. “Guess I owe you a pair, right?”

  She screwed up a corner of her mouth. She handed them back to him. “I guess you can have them. I don’t think they’ll stay on anymore.”

  “Seriously?” He grinned, looking more like one of her students at that moment than the worldly Riley Schultz. He stuffed them in his pocket and then pulled her close. “C’mon. I know this is a small bed, but let’s lie down for a while.”

  She looked up at him. “What if your mom comes back?”

  “What if she does? Nothing to see now.” She smiled as he led her to the little twin bed. “Just an innocent little snuggle with my girl.”

  She was glad they were walking toward the bed and she wasn’t looking at him, because what he said shocked her. His girl? When the hell had that happened? More importantly, did he mean it?

  No, Erin told herself. It was the after-sex endorphins talking. She’d had guys declare their love for her after a good romp, only to take it back later. You could never believe what a guy said in the heat of the moment or in the afterglow.

  What he said the next day was the truth.

  But that was okay, because she felt good too. She gladly took the place next to him on the bed that he offered and rested her head on his chest after buttoning her dress back up. They only had a few more days together, but she was going to make the most of them, starting now.

  Chapter Nineteen

  RILEY WAS BASKING in a calm, satisfied aura, holding Erin around the shoulders, her head resting on his chest. He didn’t know the last time he’d felt like this.

  He almost sat upright, realizing that the answer was either never or so long ago he couldn’t even remember. If ever, it would have been in high school. He didn’t know the last time he’d trusted a woman enough to just throw his heart on the chopping block and dare her to stab it.

  But he had this time, though. He was glad she hadn’t said anything, but wow. How fucking stupid was that? Calling her his girl? He should’ve just gotten on his knee and started gushing Shakespeare or Elizabeth Barrett Browning. He almost laughed, thinking she might have actually liked that, considering she was an English teacher.

  But she was no more his girl than he was her guy. They both knew it was a temporary thing, that they’d both return to their own respective lives come Monday morning. A self-respecting high school teacher wouldn’t even consider a bad boy rock star like Riley. Oh, sure, he was fun for a good time, but for a serious relationship? He already knew that wasn’t going to happen. She was living out a fantasy, that he was pretty sure of, especially after seeing her in that hot getup yesterday.

  But he was okay with that. He knew he’d look back on this time in his life fondly, because anymore, moments like these were rare. That she’d spend any time with him was good enough.

  And did the girl have balls. No woman had ever done to him what she’d done yesterday, cuffing him, bringing him to the brink, and then leaving him. He could laugh about it now. Hell, had he not been so worked up and teetering on the edge yesterday, he might have even laughed then. And she’d felt guilty about it too.

  He’d been unconsciously rubbing her arm in a slow up-and-down motion. Her breathing was steady and qu
iet now. He didn’t think she was asleep, but he kept his voice low when he said, “By the way, I forgive you now.”

  She moved her head a little and started running her finger on his chest. He heard her chuckle. “Good. I couldn’t have that hanging over me forever.”

  She lifted his dog tags and started examining them. Well, Jesus, there would go any possible good opinion she might have already formed of him. “Now, before you go and think, ‘God, Riley Schultz is such an egotistical, self-centered asshole,’ bear in mind I had those made when I was young and…arrogant.”

  “As opposed to older and arrogant?”

  “Ha ha,” he said, faking a laugh. “But they’re my lucky dog tags now, and they mean a lot more than just a kid’s self-serving notion.”

  “Yeah, yeah…I know. I know they’re your lucky charm. I read that somewhere.” They were nothing fancy. They were silver-toned and heavy. They weren’t the cheapie little things kids would buy for fun. But they were plain metal, stamped in simple font, hanging on a ball chain. He couldn’t remember where he’d had them made, it had been so long ago, but they’d stood the beatings they’d taken over the years. One of them said Schultz, Riley K. on one line and then there was a space, but just below it were the words, Vocals, Spawn. Then Erin looked at the other tag he’d warned her about. The top line again had his name but the second line said Metal God Extraordinaire.

  She giggled and moved her head, looking at him, resting her chin on her hand. “Now why on earth do you think I’d think you were an arrogant asshole?”

  God, she looked beautiful. A thin wisp of hair was hanging down over her eye, so he brushed it aside with his hand. He smiled at her but had no words. Nothing he said would capture the moment anyway. He wanted to hold her closer, to gush at her about how lovely and special she was, but he’d scare her off for sure.

  And what the fuck anyway? He was a goddamned rock star and he had no business acting like a love-starved puppy. Shit.