A dramatic courtyard filled with palm trees and flowering bushes greeted them, but Riley ushered her to the stairs. That action told her how desperate he was to get her alone. They took the stairs together, and Riley had the door opened and closed behind her in a blur.
Rachel leaned against the hard wood door. The warm stale air of his condo should have blasted her into reality, made her question why she was alone with Riley.
“I’ll get the AC on,” he offered, even though he didn’t move.
And she didn’t want him to. Her hand curled around his shoulder. The muscles rippled beneath her fingertips. “Kiss me, Riley,” she demanded, not even caring that she was showing all her cards. She wanted him so much.
The duffel bag dropped to his feet. And with not one bit of hesitation he hauled her up against his strong chest. His lips met hers and if she’d entertained any question that the passion on the pier was a mere moment of sentimentality, it vanished.
Rachel wanted his clothes off. Now.
She attacked the buttons of his uniform, but she got lost when the rough palm of his hand trailed up the side of her bare arms. Her skin showed goose bumps, and she craved more of his touch. Him. Riley’s fingers drew at the thin strap of the navy cotton cami top she’d worn to combat the San Diego heat. When she’d dressed this morning, she hadn’t realized how thankful she’d be later for the easy-access clothing.
The kiss they shared went on and on. His lips, his taste, his sandalwood scent … she couldn’t get enough of him.
With the straps out of his way, Riley shoved the cami down to her waist. He filled his hands with her breasts. She moaned, breaking that amazing kiss, and his lips touched her neck, his tongue circling beneath her ear. The sensations sent tiny flutters of want through her body.
“Mmm, that feels so good,” she told him.
Riley’s fingers stroked the bare skin of her waist, her belly, shooting delicious shivers to the core of her. He found the button of her jean skirt, took care of the zipper, then pressed the clothing down her thighs until it pooled at her ankles. Only a scrap of teal lace kept her from total nudity. Never had she wanted to be out of something more.
Riley apparently felt the same way. His thumbs crept beneath the elastic and soon her panties dropped to the tiled floor of his condo.
She couldn’t wait for what he’d do next. Riley had all the promise of a fantastic lover, and Rachel was ready to experience it.
But she got … nothing.
No fingers. No hands. No lips.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
Riley stood before her. He just stared at her. His gray eyes intense.
“What are you doing?” she asked. The moment stretched between them. Not uncomfortable, but a little awkward.
“I’m looking at you,” he answered.
“I can see that. I mean, why?” Sometime after college she’d gotten past feeling flustered while standing bare-ass naked in front of a man. The way she saw it, if he didn’t like her rounded belly and B minus cup size, he could pull up his pants and go home.
But this staring thing of Riley’s had her feeling disconcerted. “Riley?” she asked, her voice unsure.
His gaze slammed into hers, and she gasped. Pure hunger was there for her to see. To savor.
He swallowed. “Since I was deployed it’s been … months and months of nothing but men. I want to study you, Rachel.”
He leaned closer. “Smell your hair.”
His fingers slid down the side of her breast. “Touch your soft, soft skin.”
Her eyelids fluttered as his mouth captured her nipple.
“Taste you,” he murmured against her lips.
Rachel wanted it, too. Had she ever wanted a man this much? His gentle words alone were all the seduction she needed.
He made an impatient sound. “Hell, I’m probably not explaining this right.”
Shaking her head, she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “No, it’s all right. I think I understand.” And it was hot. He was making her hotter for him. If such a thing were actually possible.
He softly caressed her lips with his. The gentle friction caused her toes to curl. “But I need you to just stand there. If you touch me or kiss me back, I’ll have to take things fast,” he warned her, his breath warm against her cheek.
Riley’s hand was between her thighs now. She took a tiny step, opening herself to him, inviting him to explore the most intimate part of her body. Rachel sucked in a breath at that first almost hesitant brush of the curls between her legs. She kicked off her shoe and ran her toes up his calf and higher, frustrated by the material separating him from her.
His hand dropped, and he met her gaze once more. “Can you do that, Rachel? Be still while I take you in?”
Now it was her time to swallow. Apparently even the meager touch of her foot against his pant leg was too much. Heady. Rachel had a hard time finding the words, so she nodded. Have some gorgeous, sexy man explore her body … how could that be a hardship?
But what Riley was doing felt more like savoring. Relishing. He breathed her in. Tasted her with his lips. His tongue. He licked her breasts. Circled the tip of each with his tongue until it became a fine point of need. Her skin grew warm, craving another run of his hands on her arm, her hips. Her thighs.
“You are so beautiful,” he groaned against her neck. And she felt it. He made her feel powerful and desirable.
When his fingers delved between her legs, finding where she was hot and wet for him, her knees grew shaky.
“Come to my bedroom,” he said.
Again she nodded. He bent and lifted her into his strong arms. It was like something out of a movie, and she had no plans to remain a passive viewer anymore. Rachel gripped Riley’s head and brought his lips down to hers. He stopped, leaned against the wall when her tongue touched his.
“I’m going to drop you if you keep that up,” he warned.
“No you won’t,” she said, and brought her lips back to his.
He shoved off the wall with his shoulder and walked down the hall to his bedroom. He dropped her in the center of the bed, reaching for her immediately.
Rachel waved him off. “No, I want you naked.”
“I can do that while I’m kissing you.”
She shook her head. “I want to watch. It’s my turn to look at you.” To emphasize her point, she scooted to the pillows, crossing her arms beneath her head as if she was ready for a show. And she was.
With his gaze never leaving hers, Riley reached for the buttons of his shirt. A woman didn’t grow up along the beach and not see plenty of nearly nude male flesh, but Riley was in a class of his own. A man might look great in a uniform, but once those dress whites were off … not so great.
Riley’s uniform hid an amazing body. He was a large man, but not bulky. Lean, his arms and legs roped with finely honed muscle. Skin she wanted to explore. Taste.
Show over.
Rachel scrambled to her knees, bringing her eye-to-
eye with Riley. She ran her hands over the broadness of his shoulders. She wanted to see what her touch did to him. Watching his eyes darken, she stroked the tightness of his biceps, the flatness of his abs. She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest, loving the feel of him. Rachel rested her hands on the waistband of his boxer briefs.
When he was completely naked, she lowered her
gaze.
His