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  But it was there, and there was no denying it. All he could do would be to hide it. And he was good at that shit.

  He said, “So you don’t think so?”

  Erin smiled back. “Hmmm. I have no idea. Don’t all guys refer to themselves as gods?”

  Riley smirked. “Only the ones who really are.” Erin rolled her eyes and rested her head back on his chest. “Are you sleepy?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “God, I am. But…”

  She turned her head again. “But what?”

  “What’s your favorite restaurant here in Winchester?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “I was thinkin’ I could doze for a few minutes and then we could go grab a bite to eat. So, are you hungry?”

  She rested her head on his chest again. “I don’t know. Maybe.” Her fingers started dancing on his chest again. “Why don’t you sleep for a little while and I’ll wake you up when I’m hungry.”

  Goddamn, that was tempting. Sleep was pressing in on him…his eyes, his muscles, and it would be so easy to just let go.

  He did too, but then she was whispering his name and he started waking back up. He didn’t know how long it had been, but his bedroom was mostly shadows. She was whispering in his ear, saying his name, telling him to wake up. He would have been startled but she was gentle and quiet. “How long have I been out?”

  “I don’t know. An hour maybe?”

  “You didn’t need to let me sleep that long.”

  “You seemed to need it.”

  He started to sit up and she kissed him on the cheek. She sat up on the edge of the bed, and then he noticed she’d cleaned up a little while he’d slept. Her dress had been in shambles, her hair mussed, but now she was smooth and put together. “So, did you decide where we’re gonna eat?”

  “No. Do you have any preferences? Also…bear in mind all of Winchester is fully aware you’re here. Do you want to be tackled wherever we go?”

  Goddammit, that sucked, but she was right. He’d wanted to take her out, show her a good time, but how fun would it be if their table was constantly surrounded by freaks? “Okay…how about takeout? Anything acceptable that way?”

  “The Japanese restaurant has pretty good food.”

  “And…since my parents are going to be home later, how would you feel about eating at your place…just you and me?”

  She smiled. He could barely see her since the sun was going down, making his room darker, but he could see the positive look on her face. “Sounds nice.”

  “Oh, wait…forgot about the friend staying at your place. Will we be bothering her?”

  Erin blushed. “Uh…well…that wasn’t exactly true. It was just a guise to…”

  Riley felt a wave of realization wash over him. “Ah…to get me to a hotel.”

  She looked ashamed. “Yeah.”

  He nodded and shook his head. All was forgiven, but he was surprised at the amount of planning she’d put into it. He got up and turned on the light across the room. Then he walked over to his open suitcase on the chair and fished out a new t-shirt. He picked his cell phone up off the dresser and handed it to Erin. “Do you want to call in something while I wash my face and comb my hair and shit?”

  “I have no idea what kind of Japanese food you like.”

  “Surprise me.”

  “Sushi?”

  “Oh, uh…you like sushi?” She wrinkled her nose. God…he was learning they had more things in common than he might have initially thought. “I don’t either. So pick me anything other than sushi, and I’m sure I’ll love it.” He opened the door and walked to the bathroom.

  He ran cool water in the sink and splashed it on his face. Then he put toothpaste on his toothbrush and while he was cleaning his teeth, he heard her on the phone. God, he was falling hard. He was acting like a schoolgirl. What the fuck? But he didn’t know how to stop it and didn’t think he wanted to. He just wished he knew how she felt, but he was afraid to ask.

  When he was done, he ran his fingers through his hair. He was pretty sure he had some old baseball caps in his closet. If he put one on, at least he could probably get away with going in for takeout without being noticed. Erin looked too good to be seen with the likes of him anyway, so she might not want to go in with him, but he hoped she’d understand why he was going to try to be as disguised as possible. After all, she was the one who’d pointed it out in the first place.

  He went back to the bedroom just as Erin was finishing up the call. “All done,” she said.

  He opened a box on his top shelf. There was a black cap that said WHS Bulldogs. Good enough. Identified him as a citizen, not a visitor. “Would it bother you if I wore this?” He put it on his head and turned around.

  “No. Why would it?”

  He shrugged and walked over to her. She handed him his phone and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Maybe it wouldn’t last, but he was gonna have as much fun as possible with this girl for the rest of his stay.

  Chapter Twenty

  RILEY HAD BEEN telling funny stories about mishaps in the recording studio the whole way to the Japanese restaurant. Erin told him he was going to have to drive if he didn’t stop, because she was bound to have an accident, she was laughing so hard. She guessed she hadn’t given him nearly enough credit before. She herself had been guilty of raising him up to Metal God status. Of course, Riley had a sense of humor and was fun. She just hadn’t thought of him as entirely human, and that was her fault.

  So she relaxed (and even managed to forget the fact that she wasn’t wearing panties under her dress) and promised herself she’d appreciate him more while he was here. But the problem with appreciating him was that she was going to find herself caring for him more and more. And that couldn’t happen.

  When they got to her apartment, Riley pulled her coffee table out to the center of the living room. “We should eat in traditional Japanese fashion, don’t you think? On the floor.”

  So she nodded and went to the kitchen to get plates. He helped her put the food on plates. She was getting glasses out of the cabinet and said, “Oh…your soda’s still in the fridge.”

  He nodded. “Oh, yeah…the celebration soda. Guess it’ll have to wait.”

  “For what?”

  “When we’re celebrating.”

  She tilted her head, confused, but just asked, “So…do you want some ice water instead?”

  “That’d be fine.”

  When they got everything set up in the living room, they sat on either side of the coffee table. “This smells great,” Riley said and Erin nodded, picking up her fork. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  She looked up. “What?”

  “We got chopsticks, woman. Use ‘em.”

  She twisted up her mouth and then said, “I’m not that good at it and I’m hungry.”

  He grinned. “Show me.”

  She picked up the chopsticks he had set next to her plate and placed them in her fingers. And, of course, just as she’d known, she awkwardly made a mess of her plate, not picking up anything, instead just strewing food all over. She gave him a look—told you—and started to set them back down again.

  “Hold on.” He got up and joined her on the other side. He took the chopsticks from her and set them on the table. He took her right hand and moved her fingers, then placed the chopsticks in her hand so that they were almost an extension of her fingers. He reached over the table and grabbed his and said, “See, use them like this, together, to pick stuff up.”

  She practiced a few times and saw that it worked and she was able to do it. She’d just never gotten the hang of it before. Of course, no one had showed her till now. Riley said, “And then, for rice, you just put them together and kinda scoop it up, like a shovel.” He leaned over the table and dragged his plate over after picking up his water glass. “I like it better over here next to you.” She looked at him and smiled, having just finished another bite. He leaned over and kissed her, just a quick k
iss, sweet.

  That was not good. It was too much, too tender, too caring…just like his little chopsticks instruction. It moved him from plaything category to something a little more serious.

  And that was something she was not ready for. Hot sex was one thing, having fun with him, just playing around…that was okay. Fantastic, even. But something requiring her to give more of herself was out of the question. She couldn’t go there.

  So she smiled at him and looked down at her food, concentrating on making the chopsticks work right again. “So…how’d you learn to work the chopsticks like that anyway?”

  “I wish I had a great story to go with that. You know…like, I spent three years in Tibet or some shit like that. But, no, I just watched other people and practiced. It actually feels kind of natural after you get used to it.”

  She doubted it would ever feel natural, but she’d give it a go just the same. She wanted to keep talking about inane topics, but she knew she was just avoiding the question that had been on her mind all evening. They’d had some awesome fucking sex at his parents’ house and were spending a little more time together now. But was this it? He’d ridden with her in her car and they hadn’t talked much about it. So she asked, “When do I take you home?”

  He set his chopsticks down on his plate and propped his chin up with his fist. “Eager to get rid of me already?” He grinned.

  “No. I just…” She took a deep breath. “God, this is awkward.”

  He brushed a piece of hair off her cheek. “I was just kidding. Seriously, I don’t want to overstay my welcome, and I know you have to work tomorrow. I’m gonna cop out and tell you it’s up to you, because…”

  Ohhh…the look in his eyes was making her melt. “Because?”

  “Because I’d stay here forever if you let me.”

  Whoa. If that wasn’t heavy, she didn’t know what was. And was he being entirely truthful? More than that, even if he was, was she okay with that? She didn’t know. She decided to play it off, because she wasn’t ready for deep thoughts or emotion. “Yeah, well, if I let you, I’d put you to work. My kitchen floor needs a scrubbing.”

  He might have sensed her discomfort because he picked up the chopsticks again. “But you still didn’t say when.”

  No, she hadn’t. “Well, what’s left on our agenda tonight?”

  “Agenda?”

  She smiled. “Guess that sounds a little too formal, huh. What else do you want to do tonight?”

  He leered. “I wouldn’t mind round two, would you?”

  She felt a shiver crawl up her spine and she realized that, no, she wouldn’t mind that either. Even though their first time together had freaked her out, he’d done nothing but make her feel great. And he was probably right, that he’d made her feel better than she had in ages…and, she hated to admit it, even better, just like he’d promised. And what the hell was up with that? Were rock stars known for their sexual prowess? No, just their sexual appetites. So Riley had certainly surprised her.

  She couldn’t help the smile that crept over her face. “No, round two sounds pretty nice. What else?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “So…do the number of activities equal the amount of time I stay?” She shrugged, but the smile didn’t disappear off her face. “Hmmm…okay. Do you have bubble bath?”

  She sucked in a breath. God. She had never done that cliché with a guy before. Did he know what buttons to push with her or what? “I think…maybe.”

  “So, then, we enjoy a bath together and drink the celebration soda.”

  “You still haven’t told me what we’re celebrating.”

  “Well…” he said, licking his lower lip, “we’ll be celebrating that you haven’t kicked my ass out yet.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  GOD, ERIN WAS so easy to talk to. Instead of round two, they spent the evening talking, talking, talking…Riley told her about his high school days and what it took to realize his rock star dream. She talked about what she had to do to get through college, some of the harder classes, and working part-time to make ends meet.

  At one point, he asked to use her restroom. When he got out, he checked the time on his phone. Shit. It was ten-thirty. He wasn’t about to make her go through with all their plans. He knew she’d have to get up early in the morning, but they’d been having such a good time just talking, sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch, listening to music. What the hell did that mean?

  He knew what that meant, but he wasn’t going to think about it.

  He took a deep breath and pulled the bathroom door open. Erin was in the kitchen, putting away the leftover food. He saw their plates from earlier, and she had already scraped them. “Do you want me to wash the plates?”

  “No. But you could rinse them and set them in the sink, if you don’t mind.”

  “Got it.” He felt nervous and couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was because he wasn’t sure how things were going to end. That wasn’t like him, so he wasn’t going to say anything, knowing he’d power through it. When he was done, he started to turn around, ready to talk about it. “Hey—”

  But she was right there, on her tiptoes, and she grabbed him around the neck, pulling him down into a kiss. Well, hell, he didn’t want to argue with the woman, but…

  Fuck, that was infused with a shit-ton of desire. How the hell could he say no to that? His hands were around her waist before he could stop them. But when the kiss ended, he said, “I know you have to work tomorrow. You probably need your sleep, don’t you?”

  “Fuck sleep. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” God, she had a way with words.

  He was kissing her again before she could say another word. She tasted so sweet and she felt so firm yet soft in all the right places…and he wanted to touch them all again. So to hell with whatever war was going on inside him. He wanted her and it was obvious she wanted him, so what was he waiting for? And maybe, he thought, if he could make her continuously feel like a million bucks, he might be harder to toss aside.

  Where the fuck was that coming from? First off, why was he so sure she’d just cast him aside once this week was over? More importantly, though, hadn’t he already decided this wasn’t going any further? Why did he keep thinking of the future with this girl?

  Well, he needed to push those thoughts aside and just focus on pleasure…this moment, right now. Not in the kitchen, though. He picked her up—God, she was tiny—and walked into the living room. He lay her on the couch and lay next to her. It wasn’t the most comfortable place, but he didn’t want to waste time going to the bedroom. She was still wearing that dress, but he didn’t want to fuck her like an animal this time. He was going to take his time, removing all her clothes, appreciating her beauty. He didn’t want her to feel like a piece of meat.

  He liked the look in her eyes…she looked eager and excited, her eyes wide and hungry. That was for him, not for the lead singer of Spawn and Undue Influence, and that was a hell of an aphrodisiac. Yeah, he knew she really was a fan, especially after she’d quoted his own song lyrics to him, but she’d gotten past the whole rock star exterior and still liked him.

  He started unbuttoning the front of her dress, kissing her again but moving to the delicate skin on her neck. When he unfastened the last button, he slid his hands under the dress, up by her arms, trying to pull it off like a coat. Turned out it wasn’t very smooth and she started giggling when he couldn’t get it off her shoulders. He laughed too, a weird happy feeling surging through his veins. “Let me help,” she said, sitting up halfway, shimmying the dress down her shoulders.

  But he couldn’t ignore the exposed skin on her shoulder and leaned over to kiss it. She gasped and paused, unable to move. That was another turn on, knowing the power he had over her. Instead of moving, her fingers were curled around his t-shirt, and he could tell she was focused on what his lips were doing, not on her own hands. He stopped kissing her so he could pull her dress off her hips and the rest of the way off.

  “Oh, shit,�
�� he said. “I forgot you didn’t have any panties on.”

  She giggled again. “Not by choice.” She grabbed his t-shirt and he helped pull it over his head. He saw her cheeks flush again as she said, “You have the sexiest bod…”

  He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. “Hmm-mmm. You got me beat.”

  She was still blushing when she rose up to meet his lips. God, he wanted to make this girl feel incredible again and another brief thought blew through his mind, one that was so scary, he buried it—that any girl after Erin would pale in comparison. He was already sitting up after removing her dress, but he straddled her and tugged her bra straps down her shoulders. He started kissing just below her neck and down to her cleavage, and as his hands cupped her breasts underneath the bra, she arched her back, begging him to touch her.

  He couldn’t resist it.

  He pulled back one of the cups and traced a line with his tongue. He drew the nipple into his mouth, eliciting a low moan from her lips. He moved his hand to her back, between her shoulder blades, to bring her closer to him, but he knew she would never feel close enough.

  And his focus was on her. He could wait. But he wanted her to know she was special. He moved his lips back to her neck and whispered, “You like that?”

  “Yeah,” she said, just a breath.

  So he pulled the other bra cup down and brought his mouth down on her other nipple. She arched her back again, and feeling her writhe literally in his hand was another turn on. But he wasn’t going to satisfy himself…yet. He lay her gently back while his free hand traced a line down her belly. He slid his finger down her slit and it was so easy to tell how ready she was. She was swollen and wet, and when he touched her, she drew in a heavy breath. “Like that more?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” she purred, her eyes closed and almost peaceful except for the slight furrow in her brow.

  He moved his finger up and down, and it didn’t take much. He could tell she was close, so he decided to move slowly—draw it out while still making her feel good. He kissed her neck without neglecting her clit, because he’d already figured out that her neck, especially right below her ear, was one of her sensitive spots.