Something between a whimper and a cry lodges in my throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stave off the tears threatening there.
It doesn’t work; they spill over with no regard for the situation—or maybe because of the situation. For some reason, even though I’ve just had the best orgasm of my life, as the pleasure subsides and I’m left with just my thoughts, disgust fills me, kicking me in the face and leaving its boot print as a reminder.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” Aiden whispers, his tongue darting out to collect my tears at the same time he pulls his dick from me.
He shifts, pressing his lips to my cheek as he continues jerking himself between my legs. His breath is hot as it fans across my face, and then he’s letting out a low, guttural groan and snapping the band of my thong against my skin as he climaxes.
Thick ropes of cum splatter against my thighs, but the majority of it, he’s managed to catch in the crotch of my thong. I breathe out a sigh, shaking from the entire ordeal, grateful he at least thought to be careful for cleanup.
But then he’s bending, dragging the thong up instead of down, and resituating it on my hips. I gasp as his seed touches my bare pussy, and he reaches down, rubbing on the outside, smearing himself all over me.
The scent of sex fills the air as he steps back, fixing my skirt, and tucks himself back into his pants.
I’m still flattened against the door, unsure of what the fuck just happened.
“I’m going with you to that dinner, one way or another.” Aiden turns me around, tilts my chin up. “Don’t convince yourself there’s any leeway on this. At least not until I get what I want.”
Without expanding on that thought, he slides me to the side and opens the door, disappearing through it as I slump against the wall.
My heart races, my fight-or-flight response on autopilot, and I realize for the first time since he pinned me to the door that during the entire thing, I wasn’t really scared at all.
For once, I lived in that single moment and allowed myself to experience it, rather than trying to catalog everything that could go wrong.
And I’m not sure how I feel about it.
31
I stand outside Riley’s cabin far longer than necessary, waiting to see how much time it takes her to collect herself after I lose my fucking mind.
I’m still reeling when Caleb comes to pick her up, floating in a state of disbelief over what transpired upstairs.
That my dick was inside her minutes ago. Just the crown, but that was enough for me to feel her tight, slick heat convulsing around me, and to learn that I would die buried between her legs, if given the chance.
I don’t know what possessed me to do it, except that the idea of her sitting beside Caleb all night, the two of them laughing at their little jokes while I sit in my cabin alone, enraged me.
Only when she’s safely in his car, not having had enough time to change out of the messy thong I left her with, do I leave her house. I hop into the black Volvo I rented when I got to town and head to the boardwalk strip.
Aside from a tiny convenience store closer to the lake, Dahlia’s Diner is the only place open, its big red neon sign bright against the night sky. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I head inside with a notebook, sitting at the counter as I try to put Riley out of my head.
I don’t know exactly how much time passes, but I sit there looking at the book for so long, my vision grows hazy.
Jade, who seems to be a regular here, comes out from the kitchen to take my order.
“Here on Thanksgiving?” I ask, folding my hands together. “That sucks.”
“I’m just closing tonight. Better than having to listen to my mother complain about all the dirty dishes at home.”
“Moms are good for that,” I say, although I can’t really relate. My mother stopped being one a long time ago, and we always had a housekeeper.
Her complaints usually erred on my father’s tendency to stray.
“Okay, don’t tell me. Peppermint tea, and…” Jade purses her lips, tapping her pen to her chin as she studies me. “And a cinnamon bagel.”
My eyebrows raise. “Do you remember all your customers’ orders?”
“Only the ones who tip well.” She shrugs, then spins around and trots to the back.
The door swings shut behind her, and I stare down at the blank page in my notebook, rubbing my temples to try to erase the memory of Riley coming undone in my arms.
I scribble some one-liners in the notebook, working through the melodies in my head, and by the time Jade returns, I’ve got a coherent bridge for a new song.
She places my order on the counter with my receipt, then moves to the cash register and starts counting the drawer.
“So, you’re the rock star, huh?” she asks after a few moments, barely even glancing in my direction. “Do you make a habit of going around and kissing girls in random restaurants, or is Dahlia’s special?”
Dahlia’s isn’t. Riley is.
“How do you know about that?”
She snorts. “You only tongue bathed each other in front of Lunar Cove’s biggest gossip. Seriously, I love Dahlia with all my heart, but she can’t keep a secret to save her life. I’d be willing to bet the whole town knows about it by now.”
Well, shit. I’d expected it to cause Riley problems within her inner circle, but I hadn’t anticipated it being the talk of the fucking town.
The last thing I need is people realizing where I’m at, before I’ve even gotten to dispose of Riley myself.
Pulling my phone from my jacket pocket, I notice a string of notifications from my dad and Liam, and when I open the first one, sure enough, it’s a screenshot of someone saying I’ve been spotted with a pink-haired girl out west.
For now, it seems, my exact location is still unknown, with my father saying he intercepted rumors and redirected people to California and Vancouver, but still. I’ll need to be a bit more careful if I want to go through with my revenge.
“I’ve gotta be honest, I never really saw Angel going for that type.”
For some reason, the comment irks me.
Who did she see Riley with, Caleb? Please.